She Had a Very Pretty Face
by Droiture LeReve
Summary: Will's niece gets dropped into his lap by child services, her life having been a living hell hundreds of miles away in Boston. Will takes her in and tries to learn how to be a father and a teacher to a girl who thinks she has nothing left.
1. Dropping the A Bomb

Note: This idea's been kicking around in my head for some time now and I think it's high time I made it a fanfiction reality. Let's gooooo!

I don't own Glee. Would be awesome, but I don't. So nyeh. I also don't own any lyrics that appear in this fic unless otherwise noted, but I do own Annabella. All copyrighted material belongs to its original owner, so no suing, please thank you! :D

Songs used in this chapter (with original performer and album):

Learn to be Lonely – Minnie Driver – Phantom of the Opera 2004 soundtrack

Suddenly, Seymour (re-named and relyric'd Suddenly You're There by me for sake of story) – Ellen Greene and Rick Moranis – Little Shop of Horrors soundtrack

_**Annabella's Lyrics/thoughts**_

_Will's lyrics/thoughts and Anyone else's lyrics/thoughts_

_**More than one person singing at once**_

Please enjoy, as a lot of thought went into this one and I promise it'll be more than one stupid chapter this time.

**Annie- Chapter One: Dropping the A-Bomb**

Will, standing in front of his mirror, trying to choose between two different (equally hideous) ties while going over choreography in his head for Glee club, jumped about a mile in the air when he heard his doorbell go off. He dropped both ties and ran to his door.

In his doorway stood a terrified teenage girl with a duffel bag, flanked behind her by a severe-looking woman in a crisp grey suit.

"William Schuester?"

"Er, that's me, yeah."

"My name is Helena Dubois. I am an agent with social services. I specialize in inter-state relocations. Were you aware you had family living in Boston?"

Will blinked and invited the woman and the girl in, trying to think. "You know, I think my sister Mary lives out there but I haven't spoken to her in twenty years."

"That much is clear, seeing as how you seem to not recognize this girl I have here."

"No, I don't recognize her. Who is she?"

"This is your sister's only child, Annabella. She's fifteen years old, and you're listed as the next-of-kin on her official documentation. We had to take her from her home and she's very upset."

"Oh my God, what? What happened?"

"We had agents investigating, and-"

"Mom was a cheap alcoholic whore and Dad left before I was born." Annabella suddenly blurted, "So this lady came to my house, told me to pack a bag, and that I was moving halfway across the country to live with my uncle. I didn't even know I had an uncle."

"Well, I didn't know I had a niece, but don't worry. I'll take care of you." Will said. "And seriously? THAT'S what Mary's been doing all these years?"

"I'm not exaggerating, either. She's literally an alcoholic prostitute." Annabella said bitterly. Her voice was raspy, Will noted, and hoarse. It was low for such a young girl, but it had a strange ethereal quality to it as if it were coming from somewhere behind her rather than from her own lips.

"I… yeah. I get it."  
"I'm sorry. She's your sister. But that doesn't change the fact that I grew up in the slummiest parts of Boston picking pockets to feed myself."

"Here are the papers to make Annabella's permanent residence here, and a statement saying you'll give her the basic necessities." After Will nodded dumbly and signed his name where the woman pointed, Helena stood and left with a curt farewell and a veiled threat to come check on the girl at another time. Will and Annabella sat on the couch in awkward silence, Annabella shifting uncomfortably as if there were thousands of prying eyes staring at her.

"Wow." Will said, "This was just a giant bomb dropped on me."

Annabella stood up and stood in the light, sighing. Will took a good look at his new niece. She was of average height, maybe a little taller (though still shorter than he was), thin (_unhealthy, sickly, _he thought), with limp, greasy brown-blonde hair and kohl-rimmed hazel eyes that seemed to view her surroundings with a sense of steely unease, her guard tightly wrapped around her as tightly as the old, ratty clothing she wore. A threadbare sweater three sizes too small coupled with a pair of pants torn and too short to fit her, along with torn, dirty old sneakers and ratty, fingerless (she'd chopped off the fingers herself, Will noted.) black leather gloves completed her ensemble. A thick black choker adorned her neck, with a little silver bell as decoration. Will somehow sensed she was hiding something underneath it. She was scared, cold, and upset.

"Imagine how this is for me. I was taken away from my home, broken as it was, and shipped halfway across the country to live with a complete stranger who happens to be the uncle I never knew I had. I'm fifteen, sir-"

"I'm your uncle. Please don't call me 'sir'." Will said, a bit more harshly than he meant to, and immediately regretted it.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm so sorry… I'm sorry!" Annabella cried fearfully. She flinched back into the shadows, trying to make herself invisible.

"No, no, no, sweetie, don't shrink back like that. It'll be alright, I'm sorry. Come on out." Will tried to coax her out. He reached his hand out and Annabella jumped back further.

"Don't hurt me!" Annabella squeaked.

"I'm not, I promise. That should never be, and will never be, your first response here. I don't know how my sister treated you but I refuse to hurt you. You were entrusted to my care because I'm not my sister. I'll never be like her. Please come out of those shadows. I swear to you, I will not hurt you."

Annabella didn't move. Her eyes glowed with golden fear and disbelief. "How can I trust you? I've never met you before. You could be trying to trick me."

Will shook his head. "I'm not. I swear. I don't know how to prove it to you, but I only want to help. I'm a public high school teacher, sweetie. It's my job to take kids who think there's nothing left and turn them around."

Annabella still didn't move, but the stark terror in her eyes softened. "I'm really sorry I have to live here… I know you probably don't want me. No one wants me. Mom didn't even want me."

"I'll admit, it was a shock to my system, but I'm not resentful nor do I not want you. I love you, sweetie. You're my niece. How could I reject you knowing that?"

"Love me? You've known me for half an hour."

"Doesn't matter. You're my family and I love you nonetheless."

Annabella gasped a little. "Mom never did."

"Your mom hated you because she felt like she had to. Your mom… my sister… she's…" Will shook his head. "Forget about her. You're hundreds of miles away from her. She can never hurt you again. Please, take my hand and come back towards me."

Slowly, Annabella tottered towards Will's hand, watching his eyes carefully. He never even blinked, keeping his gaze on her as she slowly came back into the light. Will could now clearly see the scar that marred her right eye, along with a patch of skin that looked as though she had covered up a failed skin graft with copious amounts of makeup. _God, what did Mary do to this girl? _

Slowly but surely, Annabella reached out and touched Will's outstretched hand. Will closed his fingers slowly, showing her that there was nothing to fear. He drew her slowly into his arms, into a loving hug. Annabella immediately started to cry.

"I'm sorry!" Will said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, was the hugging too much? Shit, I'm sorry. Oops, excuse my language! I'm sorry again."

Annabella just shook her head. "I…I don't know! I don't know what this is! No one's ever done this."

"No one's ever hugged you?"

"No one. Mom would come home at night reeking of booze and sex, slap me to the ground and tell me how she has to work _so hard _because I'm a _damn disgrace _and I don't _do anything around this fucking house _even though we lived in this… dumb little studio apartment and I slept on the floor."

Will stared at Annabella. Whether it was the tearful story or the hateful cursing he was shocked at, he couldn't really tell.

"Oh, God." Will managed to croak out. "I never imagined my sister would turn into such a monster. She was always a drama queen growing up, but I never imagined… God, that's horrible. She's a monster… How did this happen? She was never like that before… Is she really that bitter?"

Will clutched onto his pale, sickly little niece tightly. "You will never be hurt like that again. I promise."

Suddenly Will's phone rang. "Hello? Oh, hi, Figgins. What? Look, actually I was about to call you. Yeah, a huge plot twist in the Book of Will just came crashing through my door. No, the plot twist is not pregnant. Why do you always assume I have sex with my plot twists? Actually the plot twist is my niece and she had to be relocated by child services. Yes, I want to enroll her, but today I need the day off. Well, yeah! She just got here less than an hour ago. I can't just leave her alone. Yes Figgins. Yes, sir. Thank you. Goodbye."

Annabella tilted her head.

"My boss." Will explained. "I told you, I'm a high school teacher. That was the principal."

"I always got good grades in school… A's and B's. It was never enough for Mom. She'd see me doing my homework and yell at me for not bringing home any money. She said 'you bring home enough goddamn papers, but none of them are green!' and kick me in the ribs a few times."

Will shook his head. "Child services should have sought me out sooner."

"Mom covered up her abuse well. I don't know how, but no one figured it out until I tried to pick Miss Dubois' pocket and she realized why I was out on the street."

"I'm glad you're here, Annabella. I'm glad you're here, with me, where you'll be safe, rather than out there, with your mother, a raging lunatic. Come on, I'll let you borrow some clothes that actually fit you and we'll go out to eat something, okay?"

"That's not a good idea…" Annabella started, "The doctor said I'm so malnourished 'cause Mom brought home nothing but beer and cigarettes that I have to be on a liquid diet for a while, until my organs stop eating themselves."

Annabella picked up her duffel bag. "In here is all my medicine. I'm sorry to drop another bomb on you, but I have a lot of health problems."

Will sat down next to her on the couch.

"This one is vitamins, this one is birth control, this one is Adderall (I have really bad ADD), this one is Pamprin-"

Will looked confused at that last one.

"Girl medicine. Never mind. Anyway, this one is a bottle of antihistamines for my allergies, and this last one is for my sinuses."

Will looked over each bottle. "Wow. Where did you get all this?"

"I was on the state-run insurance. I went to my doctor all by myself and got prescriptions for the Adderall, antihistamines, and birth control, and kind of stole the other ones from the pharmacy on my way out."

"There is a kid in my glee club who would love you." Will said, imagining Puck and Annabella cavorting around the inner city, stealing things and setting fires. Annabella's eyes lit up with joy.

"Glee club? You mean, a show choir?"

"Yeah. I teach show choir and Spanish. Why, do you like show choir?"

"I always wanted to join one, but Mom never let me. I love to sing."

"Can you sing me something?"

Annabella shook her head. "Just 'cause I like to sing doesn't mean I'm any good at it… I want to be in the choir part, where no one can hear me."

"Nonsense. Everyone has a voice. Come on, sing something."

Annabella still looked hesitant.

"I promise I won't laugh." Will added.

"Okay."

Annabella opened her mouth and began to sing. It was not a perfect sound, as it was marred by years of being kicked in the throat. But it had that aforementioned ethereal quality and a depth of emotion far beyond any voice Will had heard. With the proper training, she could be a goddess of the stage.

_**Child of the wilderness, born into emptiness, learn to be lonely…. Learn to find your way in darkness… who will be there for you? Comfort and care for you? Learn to be lonely, learn to be your one companion….never dreamed out in the world, there are arms to hold you…. You've always known, your heart was on its own! So laugh in your loneliness, child of the wilderness, Learn to be lonely… Learn how to love life that is lived alone… Oh, learn to be lonely… life can be lived and life can be loved alone…..**_

Will could only stare.

"I knew it. I suck. I'm not fit for glee club."

"No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no!" Will blurted in disagreement. "That was amazing!" Will grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and scribbled _Anne Schuester- alto- bring to glee DO NOT FORGET _and stuffed the paper in his pants pocket. "You've got an amazing voice. It's a bit sharp, but if we can flatten the tone and get rid of the rockiness in the undertones, then you'll be fit for your own solo at Regionals!"

"You think?"

"I know. And trust me, you'll love glee club. There's Finn and Puck, Rachel, Quinn, Sam, Tina, Artie… and a bunch more. Everyone is shy and kind of awkward, but they've all got golden hearts and they never give up. I couldn't be prouder of them. You know, we lost Regionals last year but that's just made us more determined to win this year."

Annabella shrugged. "I just want them to like me."

"They will, I promise! Everyone there is just like you. They're outcasts, awkward. They don't really fit in with the 'cool' crowds, but that's okay because they have their own personalities and their own individuality."

"Do they all come from prostitute families too?" Annabella asked darkly, her hazel eyes growing steely once more.

Will grimaced. "Ah, no, but their families aren't exactly '2.5 kids and a picket fence' either. Don't worry sweetheart, you'll fit right in."

Will tried to be positive, but inside his heart was breaking. He looked at the scarred, forlorn face in front of him. Her skin tone was artificial, he could tell. She was wearing more makeup than a hooker moonlighting as a clown. Underneath it, he wondered what she really looked like. With all those changes to her face and hair, he wondered if she had a true face at all. He wondered what she had been like, growing up, and regretted not contacting his sister years ago.

Will put his arm around her shoulders loosely; she flinched at the contact but forcefully stopped herself from pulling away in fear. "I'm so sorry, Annabella. We should have met sooner. You should have known that I was here. You should have known that I was always willing to help you. If I had known you, and if I could all that time ago, I would have flown to Boston myself to take you away from that place. Please, don't hate me for what's happened to you."

"I don't. I… don't hate you per se. I hate the world for allowing this to happen for so long. I hate my mother for not raising me properly. I hate my father for leaving my mother. I hate all those people I had to steal from for having more than I did. I hate all the happy, normal families I saw walking down the street, a happy, well-fed, loved child hanging from their arms. I hate the smiles on people's faces because it meant that all of them were blithely unaware of my pain. I hated my schoolteachers for never noticing what was happening, and I hated the police for ignoring a child's cries in the inner city.

"Call me selfish and call me stupid, but after what I've been through, don't I deserve something for myself?"

Will nodded in understanding. "You're absolutely right, Annie." Will said, shortening her name in affection (and because Annabella was _four syllables, Jesus H!) _

Annabella looked at Will with a soft, but hurt look. "Please…. Please don't call me Annie. Annie… that name brings up really bad memories I really don't want to re-live."

"What would you prefer I called you? Annabella is such a long name."

"If you want to give me like, a pet name or something-"

"I, er, we would prefer the term 'nickname' here, sweetie." Will said, wincing at the term 'pet name'. Annabella wasn't a pet. She was a human being.

"- You can call me Anne, or Belle, if you want. I always liked Disney movies… I liked the name Belle."

Will nodded. "Okay. Belle. And you can just call me Will, there's no need for the 'uncle' formality if you don't want to."

Belle looked him in the eyes for the first time.

"Can I… I mean…. I never had a father figure… and it's not like I'd be betraying anybody's memory because if there's one person's memory I want to betray, it's my father's…"

"If you want to call me Dad, I have no problem with it. After all, because my sister never got married, you and I still share a last name and it's easier to explain that you're my daughter than having to explain that you're my niece. Plus it would give us a deeper sense of family and show you that it's ok to look up to someone for proper guidance and that you don't have to be alone anymore."

"What do I have to call you when we're in school? You said you were a teacher."

"If you want to still call me Dad, that's ok, but if you feel awkward you can always just call me Mr Schue, Mr Schuester, Mr S, etc. It doesn't particularly matter to me, I'm pretty cool about it." Will said, smiling.

"I…." Belle bit her lip to keep from crying. "I never had all this love and attention before… I have to admit, I'm kind of scared. I don't want to be hurt again."

Will smiled softly and began to sing. He petted her head lovingly, handing her a box of tissues.

_Lift up your head, wash off that mascara… here, take my Kleenex, wipe that lipstick away… Show me a face, clean as the morning, I know things were bad, but now they're okay…_

_Suddenly I'm here, standing beside you. You don't need no makeup, don't have to pretend, 'cause suddenly I'm here, here to provide you with sweet understanding, I am your friend…_

Annabella knew the words. She got up from her place on the couch, and a run through of the house ensued as Annabella simultaneously danced and explored through her new home.

_**Nobody ever treated me kindly. Daddy left early and Mama was poor. I'd meet a man and I'd follow him blindly! He'd snap his fingers and me? I'd say 'sure!' **_

_**Suddenly you're there, standing beside me, you don't give me orders and don't condescend! Suddenly you're there, there to provide me with sweet understanding, you are my friend…**_

_Tell me this feeling will last 'till forever, tell me the bad times are clean washed away!_

_**Please understand that it's still strange and frightening, for losers like I've been, it's so hard to say! Suddenly you're there…**_

_Suddenly I'm there…_

_**You purified me….**_

_I purified you…._

_**Suddenly you went and showed me I can!**_

_Yes, you can!_

_**Learn how to be more, the girl that's inside **__**me/**__you….__**With sweet understanding…. **__I am your friend/__**You are my friend**__**!**_

With that last line, Will lifted his tiny niece and spun her around with a smile. "See, sweetheart? You don't have to be alone, because I will do everything I can to make sure you're happy. I may be a stranger to you now. I met you an hour ago when that stocky lady with the bad hair dropped you in my lap and told you that I was taking care of you from now on. To you, it must be no less than foster care or an orphanage. But I am going to prove to you that you are safe and are going to be so happy here. Today, we go down to the school and get you enrolled in classes. Tomorrow, new school and new hope for you. Deal?"

"Okay… but I'm nervous."

"Don't be. Stick with me, and I'll keep you safe."

"What if I freak out? I have a history of panic attacks, Daddy." It was the first time since the idea's conception that Belle had actually said the word 'Daddy'. Will's heart swelled, and he smiled sympathetically.

"I have a friend in the guidance department who will help you every step of the way. Now let's get you out of those dirty old clothes and into something better. I think my ex-wife left some clothes somewhere in the crawl spaces when she left."

"Ex-wife?"

"Yeah. I'm divorced. Trust me, you don't want to know her."

Will ducked down into the cupboard set into the wall and came out with one of Terri's old sun dresses. It was short and had no sleeves. Belle flinched at the sight of it.

"Um… Daddy, I don't know if I can wear that."

"Why not, hun? You've got the right frame; I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Um…." Belle took off her sweater to reveal a ripped maroon camisole beneath it, and Will couldn't help but gape at the battered and broken condition this young woman's body was in.

Thick scars and half-healed gashes littered her body, some hastily stitched shut with a household needle and thread. Bruises stained her skin a sickly blue-green, rimmed with coal black and painful yellow and splashed with angry red and sorrowful purple. She looked like she'd been pulled apart by a wild animal and then sewn back together like the rag doll woman on that stop-motion Disney movie they play at Halloween and Christmas every year, like if she pulled a single thread she'd fall apart at the seams. She reached down and unbuttoned her pants, softly assuring Daddy that she was wearing decent shorts underneath. She pulled them off and the same hideous, grotesque look adorned her legs.

Will felt tears of sorrow and anger sting at his eyes. How could Mary, the ambitious but gentle woman he grew up with and knew his whole life, have turned into such a disgusting horror show of a human being? Or perhaps… it wasn't Mary alone who did this. Was Will's older sister forcing her daughter to work on the streets to be abused and destroyed for money? How did Will not notice her pain before? Did she even feel the pain anymore? Or had she become so numb to herself that it didn't bother her anymore? Not to feel pain….

At first, the ability to not feel pain would seem like a blessing, but Will knew that that sort of gift would quickly turn into a curse. Pain was the body's way of saying that something was wrong. If one did not feel pain… how would one know when they were in trouble? Will was lost in the road map of sadness that littered Belle's torso, tracing the translucent skin with gentle, pitying eyes.

"Daddy? Daddy? Uncle Will? Please say something… I know I'm really ugly. Please don't hate me because I'm so ugly."

Will dropped to his knees in front of his new-found daughter (for now he was determined to legally make this fallen angel his own) and kissed her scars and bruises, assuring her through each one that they would heal and she would never feel this sort of pain for the rest of her life.

"I can never hate you. I can never, in a thousand years, hate you. I could never reject you or find you ugly, because you are my child now, and as a proper parent I can never, ever reject anything about you. You are beautiful, and I never want you to allow anyone to tell you different. These scars do not mean you are weak. They are badges of honor to be worn proudly, to show to the world that you survived. That you're impossibly, and wonderfully, strong."

Belle twisted her fingers into Will's curly hair and pulled him back, away from her. Will tried to look up into her eyes, but saw only pale eyelids instead. Belle's eyes were screwed shut, her lower lip caught between crooked yellowing teeth, biting down to keep from sobbing. Belle dropped down to his level and buried her face in his shirt, letting the tears and heaving sobs flow freely. Words flew from her mouth, words she's wanted to say for so long. They poured out of her like a waterfall, and she couldn't stop them.

"I don't want these badges, Daddy! I don't want to be strong anymore! I want to be a kid again, a real kid. I want to go to Daddy for help when I can't figure out my math homework! I want to go shopping at the mall, and play video games, and drink soda like a real kid! I want to be able to go out with boys without being handcuffed to a motel bed!

"I want to have a real Mommy and a real Daddy who love me and take care of me and let me be weak because they love me so much they don't want to make me be strong on my own! I want someone other than myself to depend on, someone to trust so I don't have to hate anymore!

"I want to be immature and silly again! I don't want to have to steal from people to buy fast food that's bad for me. I want to eat real food made from home so I know it'll be good for me. I want to eat my vegetables and grow big and strong. I want to feel good about myself, and I want a Daddy who will tell me I'm beautiful even when I'm not wearing any makeup and my face is all burned and ugly and my scars are showing and I'm sleepy and haven't showered yet.

"I don't want to have to give up my body and my soul for money anymore. I want to have a real job, like bagging groceries or stocking shelves. I want to smile when I wake up in the morning and come out of my real room to see my Daddy singing and making breakfast. I want to hear an inspiring voice telling me to be good and do my homework, not a hateful one telling me that I'm worthless and too stupid to learn. I don't want to be cursed at and insulted when I walk in the door.

"I just want to be a real kid again, Daddy…. I don't want to be a grown-up anymore."

Will had started bawling with her, holding her tightly, as if she'd disappear if he let go. He pressed his lips to her head, giving her the fifteen years worth of love and support he'd missed through the years. He looked down at her, regaining his composure. "I can't give you a Mommy… not yet. I'm sorry for that. If you'd have come a few years ago, maybe you would have had a Mommy. But I'm divorced now and can't give you that much. But what I can give you is a Daddy. I can be a real Daddy, a proper Daddy. I can give you real, good-for-you food and a nice soft bed to sleep on. I can give you love and attention and money for yourself so you don't have to be in pain anymore. I can do that much."

"I don't want to be a spoiled brat, though… I just want enough to be happy."

"Sorry, no can do. I'm going to spoil the _hell _out of you, Belly. You're getting your own room, your own savings account, and I'm getting you all new sheets and blankets, and we're going shopping over the weekend to get you some new clothes. Anything you want, from any store. Kohl's, Macy's, Aeropostle, you name it, I'll get it for you. I want you in a whole new wardrobe by next week. I'll buy you books and games and toys, anything you want. I'll get you a cell phone with unlimited minutes. I don't ever want you to feel like you're without again."

Soon enough, Belle had cried herself to sleep, and Will tucked her into his own bed, planning to make this room hers. He called the city and asked to pick up a set of adoption forms. This girl was going to be his, whether his sister liked it or not.


	2. Born This Way

Note: Second chapter is here. I just saw the Lady Gaga Born this Way music video on Youtube and it made me so happy. God makes no mistakes.

I want to note that in titles like Mr, Ms, and Mrs, I should grammatically put a period after the title, making Mr Schue, Mr. Schue, but I don't do that even when I'm writing it by hand so nobody better bitch at me about it. That's the only time I'm not a grammar nazi.

I don't own Glee or any copyrighted music or lyrics. I own Annabella Schuester, nothing more. And technically I kind of only half have a claim to her because she's the fictional made-up niece of a fictional character who doesn't belong to me.

Songs used in this chapter (with artist and album):

Anything But Ordinary – Avril Lavigne – Under my Skin

My Eyes – Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day – Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog (some lyrics changed to reflect a different meaning for a different singer)

**Chapter Two: Born this Way**

Will brought Belle in to school about two weeks later (wearing borrowed clothing from Will multiple sizes too large for her, making her look smaller than she really was, which Will thought was adorable but Belle thought was ridiculous), after trying to take her shopping and failing. (turns out she had a severe phobia of crowds and after two panic attacks and a subsequent refusal to leave the mall restroom, Will took her home). However, due to scheduling and spring vacation, that day was her first. During Spanish, he announced who she was.

"Guys, we've got a new student to the school, treat her nicely. Say hello to my niece, she's 15 and a freshman." Belle didn't know what to do with all the eyes looking at her, so she just waved shyly from her seat in the back.

"I'm Belle… hi." Belle whimpered, eyes cast down to her desk to avoid the eyes.

"Don't be shy, honey. Smile." Will said. Belle whimpered . "Alright, well, let's begin."

Belle hung her head. Finn smiled from his seat next to her. "Hi. I'm Finn."

"My name is Belle." Belle answered in a small voice.

"Hey, you don't gotta be scared of me. I know I'm big and everything but I'm nice. I'll be your friend."

Belle smiled a little. "Okay."

"You're Mr Schue's niece? I didn't know he had a niece."

"Well, I didn't know I had an uncle until the lady from child services dropped me in his lap."

"That's wild. So he's like, raising you now?"

"Basically, I guess. He's my dad now, sorta. At least, that's what I call him… he lets me."

"Well, you're in luck because Mr Schue's really awesome. He'll raise you right." Finn smiled.

Belle nodded. "I hope so…"

Glee club saw Belle almost crying in fear of the dozen-odd faces looking straight at her. Unlike in class, where the eyes looked at her for a few seconds and then disappeared back to their bored, stupefied expressions towards the blackboard, these faces didn't deviate from hers. She recognized Finn, but somehow his face didn't calm her down.  
"Guys, this is Annabella. She's my niece and I really want you guys to try and be friendly. She doesn't make friends easily, okay? Also, keep your eyes on your wallets; she's a wily one."

Belle frowned and kept herself small.

"Hey, sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings; I was just making a joke. Say hi, Belle, it's okay."

Belle stayed quiet. Her eyes began to tear up. She pressed herself closer to Will's side, hoping half-heartedly to pass into his body like osmosis or something.

"She's just really shy. Groups of people scare her." Will said nervously, trying to push Belle to speak.

"Is she a robot? Robots don't talk either."

"No, Brittany, she's not a robot." Will responded, wondering idly how Brittany associated quiet teenagers with robots.

Belle hung her head, and Will held her to his side. "Come on, honey, sing something for us. You did it before."

"It was just you and me before." Belle responded in little more than a whisper.

"I know. Pretend they aren't there if you want. Pretend all those chairs are just empty chairs. You're singing all alone, if you want. Don't worry about it. This entire club is based around song. I know you can sing. You sang before. Just give that sheet music to the band standing over there, and take your cue. I know you can."

Belle stared distantly into the wall, shaking. The faces of the concerned glee club in front of her twisted into mocking, fanged beasts, laughing and pointing. The walls began to close in, and her vision began to blacken. Her heart pounded in her chest and she began to hyperventilate. She collapsed against Will, who shook her gently before realizing that wouldn't help if… "Oh, Jesus, she's having a panic attack. Uh, wait here, guys." Will led the young girl out.

"Wow, she was…. Odd." Artie commented.

"Yeah, it looked like she'd never been in front of people before. She was like, just shaking and staring." Tina said.

"Stage fright. Only happens to the shy and self-depreciating. Never to me, of course, but I can imagine how a quiet little thing like that can get a little nervous." Rachel said.

"A little nervous? She had a panic attack, Berry. That's more than a 'little' nervous. Girl looked like she was gonna pee herself." Puck snapped.

"I met her in Mr Schue's class second period. She seemed nice. I got her to talk to me, but like… she didn't say a lot. She's not very chatty. She refered to Mr Schue as 'Dad', though." Finn said.

"I wonder what the reason is for that." Artie wondered. The class settled into a solemn, awkward silence, waiting to see what happened next.

It seemed to be an eternity later before Will walked back in slowly with a lax, but holding grip on Belle's hand. She seemed to have recovered from her panic attack, and she was wearing a hat down over her eyes so she was virtually blind. Will kept a grip on her hands and led her back to the center of the room, saying (slightly too loudly), "Okay, Belle, we're in the auditorium. I just want you to sing to me, okay? I'm the only one here, besides the band. Just practice so we can show the glee kids later, okay?" Will said, shooting the class a look that screamed suspension if any of them even made a sound. The class was completely silent, none of them ever having seen that particular look of looming death in Mr Schuester's eyes. However, every one of them could sense that this was not going to end well. Rachel in particular had a look of 'are-you-completely-retarded-or-just-partially?' splayed across her face.

"Oh-okay, Daddy, but why can't I see? I don't like it when I can't see."

"Just keep the hat on. It's just to keep you from getting scared. If you see a bunch of empty chairs, you'll imagine people are in them. Trust me, it happens. Just sing, okay?" Will said, distributing the sheet music to the band.

Electric guitar and bass filled the room. Drums followed. Belle opened her mouth and sang. She stood straight as an arrow, tense, as if she could sense that she wasn't as alone as Daddy said they were.

_**Sometimes I get so weird, I even freak myself out, I laugh myself to sleep; it's my lullaby….**_

_**Sometimes I drive so fast, just to feel the danger, I want to scream; it makes me feel alive!**_

_**Is it enough to love? Is it enough to breathe? Somebody rip my heart out, and leave me here to bleed…. Is it enough to die? Somebody save my life! I'd rather be anything but ordinary, please! I'd rather be anything but ordinary, please….**_

_**To walk within the lines would make my life so boring; I want to know that I have been to the extreme…**_

_**So knock me off my feet, come on now! Give it to me…. Anything to make me feel alive….**_

_**Is it enough to love? Is it enough to breathe? Somebody rip my heart out, and leave me here to bleed…. Is it enough to die? Somebody save my life! I'd rather be anything but ordinary, please…. I'd rather be anything but ordinary, please….**_

_**Let down your defenses, use no common sense, if you look you will see that this world is a…**_

_**Beautiful accident! Turbulent, succulent, opulent, permanent, no way! I wanna taste it, don't wanna waste it away!**_

_**Sometimes I get so weird…. I even freak myself out…. I laugh my sleep it's my….**_

_**Lullaby!**_

_**Is it enough? Is it enough? Is it enough to breathe? Somebody rip my heart out and leave me to bleed…. Is it enough to die? Somebody save my life! I'd rather be anything but ordinary please….**_

_**Is it enough?**_

_**Is it enough to die? Somebody save my life! I'd rather be anything but ordinary please…. Oh… I'd rather be anything but ordinary please…..**_

The kids were impressed.

Will nodded. "Okay, sweetie, take the hat off."

Belle did as asked. Everyone in the choir room watched in slow motion as her expression changed from confusion to denial, to anger and then pure, unadulterated rage. Will had a fleeting thought of _okay, not one of my better ideas. _

"_You said it was just you and me!" _she accused, launching herself at him, long, sharp nails first.

"I know, I know I did- Ah!" Will got a good claw right across the eye before he was able to dodge, falling to his knees on the floor with his hand on his face before Puck and Finn were able to get behind them and pull Belle off. Belle was still screaming, "Liar! You said we were alone! Liar!"

"Sweetie, I know you think I lied, a-and I did! But it was just to get you to open up and relax a little. You're so wound up!"

Belle finally calmed down just barely enough to shake Finn and Puck off her arms. Will stood up, using the piano for support. His hand dropped, and blood from the gash across his eye dripped steadily down his face.  
"I have been hurt, abused, lied to, and _mind-fucked _my whole life," Will flinched at the curse word spat at him, "…and when you told me you'd take care of me and keep me safe, I assumed that meant you were different! That you weren't like all the other guys I had known! That you'd be honest with me and take care of me like a father is supposed to! I broke down and showed you what my past has done to me, and you promised me that would never happen again! You _promised _me on your _fucking_ hands and knees that would never happen again! You took my hand and you looked me in the eyes and _fucking swore to me you were different! _I thought you were going to be a real dad to me! I thought I could trust you! You've seen my scars, my bruises, and still you don't even care!"

"I was just trying to-"

"_SHUT UP!" _she screeched, picking up a chair and throwing it in his general direction, missing his head by inches as he ducked. "I hate you! I hate you! You're a liar and I can't trust you! I should have known better than to trust a stranger! You're a stranger and I don't even know you! I knew you would turn coat on me! Traitor! Liar! I hate you! You're no different than any other dirt-bag asshole I've had the self-loathing to be seen with! Lima's no different than Boston!" Belle turned tail and ran out of the room, crying, knocking over last year's Sectionals trophy on her way out, the trophy shattering into pieces when it hit the tile floor.

Will was stunned and at a loss for words, Belle's hateful declaration ringing in his ears. "I… I was just trying to help her…" he turned desperately to his students. "You know I was just trying to help her!" He cried, bleeding down into his shirt. The glee kids shrugged, filing out one-by-one in solemn silence. "I was helping! Please!"

Rachel stayed behind.

"You were trying to help her, but you went about it all wrong." Rachel said. "Yes, you knew if she saw us she'd refuse to perform. That much you got right. You wanted her to sing so badly, however, you forgot to think about her feelings. I don't want to sound rude, Mr Schuester, but you've exhibited this behavior in the past. You want something so badly it becomes the only thing you think about, to the exclusion of all other things."

Will nodded in recognition. "You're right… you're absolutely right. God… what the hell kind of parent am I?" Will dropped back down to the floor. "I'm a horrible father. I exploited her weakness for my own gain. Oh God, what have I done?" He asked.

Rachel pulled a small first-aid kid out of her purse, knelt next to Will, and started to mop up the blood smeared across the teacher's face with a small face cloth. "What you've done is shown your niece but a single flaw, Mr Schue."

"Pretty big flaw. I doubt she'll ever speak to me again."

"She will, given time, and if you can show her that there's enough good in you to outweigh the bad. Nobody's perfect, Mr Schue."

"Why not?" Will asked. "Why can't I be perfect? All I wanted was to show her that stage fright is all in her head! That she doesn't have to panic when she sees other people. She expects me to walk on eggshells around her."

Rachel pulled out some medical ointment and a roll of gauze. "I don't think she expects you to be perfect, Mr Schuester. She just expects you to be different. From what we've just heard, she's been hurt before, probably by a guy. Many guys, perhaps, ranging in age from her own to older than you are. She just wants to be taken care of instead of having to take care of everybody else. Is that so much to ask?"

Rachel began applying the thick gel to Will's wound before wrapping his eye and head up with the gauze.

"I just don't get it, Rachel. How can so much hate fit into such a small girl?"

"She's small on the outside, but you'd be surprised at how much negativity can fit into a person's soul."

"What do you mean?"

"There's a limit to optimism, Mr Schue. One can be very optimistic, sometimes annoyingly so, but there is a limit before optimism turns into denial. Saying 'today will be a good day' is one thing. Having the rain soak through your homework after you've burned your breakfast and then losing a competition, and still saying 'today can still be a good day' isn't optimism. It's denial. However, hatred is unlimited. Hate for something, sadness, and anger about something…. There's no limit to that. When someone is fixated on something, hating something, that hate will just keep growing and growing until it's consumed that person. And even after they're completely too far gone in hate to bring back, the hate will still keep growing and growing. Happiness is like a houseplant. You care for it, keep it in the sun, and smile, but eventually it will die, because all good things are temporary. Negativity is a parasite. It keeps growing and keeps eating away at you until there's literally nothing left."

Will was silent as Rachel's small hands taped the gauze down to his face.

"So what do I do about it?" Will finally asked in a low voice.

Rachel shrugged, and finished applying the tape. She put her first aid materials away. "That much I can't help you with, Mr Schue. You're a smart man. You're going to have to figure that part out on your own."

Belle stalked towards the gym bleachers, crying her eyes out. She tore off the borrowed clothes she was wearing piece by piece, throwing them into a crumpled heap on the gym floor behind her and reaching into her school bag, where her original clothes lay hidden. She slipped her old, ripped jeans and ratty, threadbare sweater back on, feeling safe in her own fabric. She whimpered in a ball, loathing herself for falling for Will's tricks and hating the world for standing back and letting it happen.

Sue Sylvester walked into the gym to prepare for her after-school Cheerios practice and heard the sound of a young girl crying. After following the trail from slacks, to button-down shirt, to vest (Where had Sue seen that vest before? It looked familiar….), to socks, she came across Belle laying down between sets of bleachers. "Hey, kid. Get out of here. As much as the tears of children amuse me, I have practice in an hour and I need my space."

Belle looked up. She got up. "I'm sorry, ma'am… I'll go."

Sue got a look at her face. "Hey, you're that scrawny little thing who stumbled out of Will Schuester's car this morning."

"Don't say that stupid name!" Belle cried out. "I don't ever want to hear his stupid name or hear his stupid voice or see his stupid face ever again! He's a traitor and a liar and I hate him!"

"All very true sentiments, little girl, but there's a reason for it, isn't there?"

"He's a liar and a trickster! I thought he was different…. I thought he was better! He's not to be trusted! I hate him! He's just like all the others! They take me in for a while, give me a place to sleep and something to eat, but then they lie to me, use me and throw me away! Lima, Ohio is no different than Boston! Same shit, different day!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey now. Calm down. What exactly did he do that was so terrible that you hate him so much?"

Belle's mind processed Sue's statement somewhat differently than Sue had meant it, and Belle shoved the cheerleading coach backwards, screaming wordlessly. Sue tumbled down the bleachers and hit the ground with a loud _crack_.

"_You're defending him! After what he did to me, you're defending him!" _ Belle screamed.

Sue tried to get up, but a vicious shooting pain in her shoulder kept her glued to the floor. Having had experience with this kind of pain before Sue immediately realized that her shoulder was dislocated and maybe even fractured. That scrawny little girl who weighed maybe 100 pounds soaking wet with rocks in her pockets was deceptively strong. "Look, kid," she choked, "I'm not defending anybody. I wasn't defending whatever Will did, I was just asking what he did in the first place."

"He _knows _I have panic attacks and Enochlophobia, and still he-"

"Hold up right there, enochlo-what-ia?"

"Fear of crowds." Belle explained dully. "Anyway, he _knows _I have panic attacks when faced with people, and he tricked me into singing in front of them even though I was really scared and it's like he doesn't even care about me at all! He…" Belle began sniffling, "He p-p-promised me he'd t-take care of m-me!" Belle stuttered. "He s-said I was too sp-special to be hurt like that a-again a-a-and then he just g-goes and _betrays _me in front of the wh-whole glee club!"

Sue struggled to her feet using her good arm as support. "Okay, I think I'm a little bit confused here, girly. Explain to me when he said that to you."

"About a-a month ago when the l-lady from child services brought me to l-live with him."

"Hm. I wasn't aware Will was listed as a foster parent."

"He isn't… he's my u-uncle." Belle explained tearfully, trying not to have another breakdown.

Sue nodded in understanding. "Come into my office, we'll get your face cleaned up and my shoulder relocated." Sue said, pointing in the general direction of her office. Belle followed Sue out, picking up her fallen outfit along the way.

Belle marveled at the trophies and ribbons adorning every available surface of the small office room. "Are all these yours, Miss Sylvester?" Belle asked, in awe.

"Most of them, yes, won by my cheerleaders."

Belle sat down quietly, taking the tissue offered by the coach. Sue dialed up the school nurse on the intercom to help pop her shoulder back into place.

Sue looked down at Belle in the short chair. "You know," she started, "I kind of see the family resemblance. You've got the same eyes, almost."

"I don't want them, then."

Sue's mouth twitched. This little girl was full of fire. "How would you like to become a Cheerio?"

"I'm not talented enough to be a Cheerio. I'm not talented enough for anything."

"That's no way to win."

"I don't want to win. I just don't want to lose anymore."

"You're willing to settle for mediocrity?"

"I'm willing to settle for a numb existence."

"That's not a real life. That's no way to spend the years you've got."

"And being beaten, raped, and lied to for fifteen years is? I'm _sick, _Coach Sylvester and the truth is, I don't know how much time I have. I want to spend the rest of my years numb and cold. That way, I'll never be hurt again."

"Being numb and aloof may seem like a good way to escape from your problems, but that's just it. It's only, and will ever be only, an escape. It's not a cure. You're treating the symptoms, that's it."

"But isn't that the story of the rest of the world anyway? I mean really."

_**Any dolt with half a brain can see that humankind has gone insane to the point where I don't know if I'll escape the status quo if I throw poison in the water main!**_

_**Listen close to everybody's heart and hear that breaking sound… hopes and dreams are shattering apart, and crashing to the ground!**_

_**I cannot believe my eyes that the world's filled with filth and lies and it's plain to see darkness inside of me is on the rise…..**_

Sue shook her head. Was the entire Schuester family a giant Broadway-fueled orgy of musical theater nuts? It seemed Sue could only get through to this girl one way, and it was through singing. Sue thought of all the mouthwash she'd go through tonight to get the taste of _song _out of her mouth, and shuddered, but opened her mouth in response anyway.

_Look around, you're living with the lost and found, and just when you think you've almost drowned, you find yourself on solid ground and you'd believe there's life in everybody's heart, a chance to make your sound, you truly want to go and do your part, so rise and stand your ground…._

_I cannot believe my eyes, that a Schuester can be so blind, and it's plain to see that some twisted fantasy is on the rise…._

_**Anyone with half a brain can spend their whole life howling in pain, and I'm standing just right there and Daddy doesn't seem to care that the dark in me is all that will remain…**_

_Look at me, I'm singing to a girl like me, and even though it's plain to see, her mind's not as it should be…._

_**Listen close to everybody's heart and hear that breaking sound….**_

_**Hopes and dreams are **__**shattering apart/**__how we get our start,_

_**And **__**crashing to the ground/**__rising from the ground_

_**I cannot believe my eyes, how a person could be so blind and it's plain to see **__**darkness inside of me/**__the instinct inside of me __**is on the rise….**_

Belle fell quiet, the box of tissues having been crushed to a crumpled, misshapen cardboard lump in her fierce grip.

Outside Sue's office, against the door where he couldn't be seen, Will sat on the linoleum floor and cried.


	3. Infected

Note: The wind is going insane outside. I hate living in New England. The worst part is I'm so used to it here that it's March and I'm able to bop outside in a tank top and a pair of flip flops to go get the mail.

I don't own Glee. If I owned Glee, Karofsky would be hit in the face with a shovel and then thrown into a pit of poisonous spiders while Kurt stood over the pit and laughed maniacally, quite possibly while stroking a fluffy white cat.

And as always, all music belongs to proper owners, not me. I am just a poor college student living with her parents in the backasswards of nowhere. When I alter the lyrics to a song, I'm not trying to get around copyright laws, I'm just trying to fit the character. So no suing, please 'kay thanks!

Slight change to the font system. Now, _italics_ are not only anyone's singular lyrics, but multiple people singing as well, but only if Annabella is not among them singing. If Annabella is among them, the lyrics will still appear _**Like this. **_Just to clear up any confusion.

Songs used in this chapter:

Infected—Alexa Vega—Repo! The Genetic Opera soundtrack (lyrics altered)

Misery—Good Charlotte—Good Morning Revival

Believe In—Skwib—Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie soundtrack

**Chapter Three: Infected**

"Please, kids, help me out with this." Will begged his glee club. "I just want to redeem myself here. You guys know I'm not a bad person. I'm just a damn idiot." Will said.

"I don't know, Mr Schue. While we agree Belle overreacted before, we also agree it was kind of your fault." Puck said.

"I know it was my fault, and I want to redeem myself. Please help me."

The glee club shifted in their seats awkwardly, resistant.

Will groaned. "You know, I could just make it an assignment and then you'll have to do it."

The club sighed. "Alright, fine." Santana agreed, smirking. "We'll go along with this. I mean, how bad could it be, right? I mean, she can't throw chairs at all of us."

"Watch it, Santana!" Will snapped. "I know she's intense but there's a method to her madness. You don't understand what she's been through."

"And you do?" Santana snapped back. "'Cause from what I understand you and her have some communication issues, here."

"Hey, I am doing my best, and maybe I screwed up, yeah. I've never been a dad before. I had no warning before Belle moved in and I am trying to learn everything as I go along. It's hard. I'm fifteen years behind. And yes, I'm going to make mistakes. These mistakes could be small, or they could end with getting chairs thrown at me. And yes, Belle and I don't communicate well sometimes. How can we, when we come from such different worlds? It's very hard for me to understand her, just as it's hard for her to understand me. That's why I want to do this. I want to make her see that I want to be there for her, even though I might not understand what I'm even doing half the time. I'm flying by the seat of my ass, here." Will said, defeated.

Satisfied with the club's more positive reaction, Will smiled inwardly.

"Mr Schuester? If Belle was so angry with you yesterday, where did she go last night? And where is she today?" Rachel asked.

"Those are both good questions, and questions I simply don't have the answers to. I hope she found some place warm and safe, but either she came in after I fell asleep and left before I woke up this morning, or she never came home last night at all." Will said sadly.

"I hope she's alright." Finn commented. "Little skinny thing like her, walking outside after dark all alone. That's just asking for trouble."

"Sadly, that's not necessarily true. Belle has a history of 'asking for trouble' after dark, as it were. She probably knows her way around the back alleys."

"She's new here though. She wouldn't know where to go."

"It doesn't matter if she's in Boston, New York, or Lima, Ohio. The back alleys of any town are generally the same. Belle can probably figure out where to go and what to do just by instinct alone. As much as it pains me that she even has that instinct set in the first place."

"Well, whatever, I still hope she's okay." Finn said.

"I do too, Finn." Will said. A student shuffled into the choir room, handed Will a post-it note, and shuffled back out silently. Will peered down at the note and a look of relief washed over his face. "I'll be right back, kids." Will bolted out the door, and some of the kids were unsure if what they just witnessed was a man or a cartoon running out the door at that impossible speed.

Will rounded the corner and nearly slid on the knees of his jeans into Figgins' office. "Belle?" He asked, out of breath.

"Local authorities picked her up after trying to use someone else's credit card." Figgins explained. Belle was silent and kept her piercing gaze forward, refusing to even twitch her head to acknowledge that Will was in the room.

"Belle… why would you do something like that?" Will asked. Belle didn't answer. Will sighed. "Look, Belle. I know you're angry at me. I screwed up. I told you I'd be different and then I turned around and did something completely idiotic. I get it. It was my own fault, and I'm sorry. But running away and pickpocketing someone's credit card is _not _the answer."

"What do you expect me to do, then?" Belle asked suddenly. "I can't even look at your face right now without wanting to claw your other eye to ribbons. Why should I listen to a word you say? Why should I care? If you're just going to turn around and basically tell me that you don't give a damn what happens to me. I'm _sick, _Uncle Will," The 'Uncle Will' hit Will's heart like a freight train, and the words themselves sounded so foreign, "and I can't be fixed. It's inevitable that you'll reject me just like my mother did. I'm broken. Damaged goods. No one wants to be saddled with someone like me."

"That's not true, and you know it. I love you, Belle. What I did was a mistake, and I know it. I'm not good at this parenting thing. I'm trying so hard to give you the life you've always dreamed of. Maybe I'm trying too hard?" Will suggested.

"I could have _died. _I could have gone into shock. You're actually lucky I reacted the way I did. I'm _sick, _Uncle Will."

"I don't understand."

"Maybe you'll get it if I sing a little ditty about it. That seems to get through your thick skull well enough." Belle reached over Figgins' desk and typed a few things into his desktop computer. She clicked a few things and music began playing.

_**I'm infected. I'm infected by her genetics!**_

_**Annie, I'm not sober…. Annie, I'm your mother! Annie, you're a freak! Take your medicine! **_

_**I'm infected by her genetics!**_

_**Annie, don't you touch me! Annie, go make money! You do not deserve me, get out of my house….**_

_**Remember, use protection, you cannot be reckless!**_

_**That's what is expected when you are infected!  
I'm infected by her genetics! I'm infected by her genetics.**_

_**And I don't think that I can be fixed, no, I don't think that I can be fixed! Tell me why, oh why are my genetics such a bitch? **_

_**It's this blood condition, damn this blood condition! Mother, can you hear me? Thanks for the disease! Now I am sequestered, part of the collection… that's what is expected when you are infected, that's what is expected when you are infected….That's what is expected, when you are infected…..**_

_**How much of it is genetics? How much of it is fate? How much of it depends on the choices that we make? Coach says I have your eyes but do I also inherit Mom's shame? Is heredity the culprit? Can I stop it, or am I a slave?**_

_**I'm infected, by her genetics! **_

_**I'm infected, by her genetics!**_

_**What hope has a girl who is sick? My dream of a life past this fence… It really makes no difference, 'cause I know that I'll never be fixed! Tell me why, oh why are my genetics such a…. bitch?**_

_**Oh... I want to go outside... Outside…**_

The music ended, and Will was left in some sort of fugue in-between state of confusion over the song's meaning and fury at the sister he thought he knew. Figgins gave an appreciative whistle at Belle's vocal talent. "Forgive me for ever doubting your Glee kids, William."

"Figgins. I'm going to take Belle home. I'm going to need a substitute to cover the rest of my classes today." Will said, in a tone of voice that did not allow for any negotiation whatsoever. Figgins, hearing the undertones of hurt in Will's voice, nodded curtly and let him go. "Belle. I'm taking you home." Will said, in the same non-negotiable tone.

"What home? I've never had a home."

Emma walked into the choir room. "Hey kids." She greeted them.

"Hey, Ms Pillsbury. Where's Mr Schue?" Artie asked.

"A family emergency came up. He'll be back tomorrow, so in the meantime, I'm just here to cover him. What are you guys doing today?"

"Mister Schuester asked us to help him put together a number for Belle. She's really having a hard time adjusting and he thinks that maybe if she sees that we're not afraid to sing on stage, she'll lose her stage fright too." Rachel supplied.

"Ooh, yeah, I heard about what happened. Is that why Mr Schuester was wearing a gauze patch on his face?"

"Yeah, she got a good swipe right across his face. It took both Finn and me to keep her from doing worse. I think she was ready to kill him, Ms Pillsbury. She's really strong for a little girl. It took two 200-pound football players to hold her back from ripping his throat out." Puck said. "She was really angry."

"I don't think I've ever heard so many swear words come out of one girl's mouth." Finn agreed. "Like, I guess in theory I knew it was possible, but I just didn't think it could actually _happen, _you know?"

"There was blood everywhere. I'm surprised he can still see out of that eye." Rachel grimaced. "I was the one who patched him up. I hope it heals up properly."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Rachel. What number were you planning on using?"

The kids looked at each other and shrugged, with intermittent mutterings of "I'unno…" among them.

"Okay, well, what kind of number was he planning on?"

Identical response. "Okay, well…. You work on that." Emma said awkwardly.

"Hey! Ouch! Hey, ow! Uncle Will, ow! Let go!" Will had a fierce grip on Belle's arm as he pushed her down onto the couch. He hovered over her, muscled arms on either side of her, gripping the back of the couch in an iron grip as his fierce icy eye and patch of bloody gauze bored into her golden-green orbs.

"Let me make one thing clear, Annabella. You are _not _to run off again, and you are _not _to go stealing things from people, do you understand me? It's _illegal, _and while Boston authorities may have let you slide, here in Lima it's a felony!" Will practically roared.

"Oh, so what, you're going to finally grow a set and be a real father, is that it? You've let me run wild for a month now, and look where that's landed me. You were so damn focused on being my friend that you forgot to be my father." Belle snapped back. "I get it. You've never done the 'Daddy' thing before. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't actually try to raise me right."

"From what I recall you didn't want anything to do with me yesterday!"

"Because you tricked me! You lied to me! You told me it was just you and me, and then you give me back my sight and there's fucking a dozen-and-a-half people staring at me!"

"Hey, watch your language, missy."

"Fuck you! You'll never understand who I am and where I've come from no matter how many times I try and drill it into your big dumb head! As much as you'd like to be, you're _not my real father._ I'm just here because the dumb bitch from child services dropped me here. If it weren't for her, I'd still be in Boston getting my ass pounded for pocket change. Do you have any idea what that's like? Do you have any idea of the ramifications involved with that lifestyle? Drugs! Alcohol! Sex! I'm fifteen and I've been through rehab three times! I'm afraid of people because _that's how I've been molded. _I've been taught to hate people, to hate the disgusting mooing masses that walk this earth. Hate turned to fear."

"That's no excuse! You're hundreds of miles away from that place! Why didn't you come to me with these feelings? Better yet, why didn't you go to Miss Pillsbury?"

"You think that prim, perfect, mousy little woman understands what I've been through? She's a doe-eyed little trophy doll! The most tragic thing she's ever gone through is not sanitizing her fork before she uses it. She can't help me and neither can you! No one can! The only one who can understand me is me!"

"So I've never been through the same problems you have! Big deal! I can still help you! I can still try to understand!"

"How? By placating me with gifts and food? That doesn't help. That just makes it worse! It masks the underlying issue!"

"Then what is the underlying issue?"

"I'm fucking miserable here!"

Will and Belle fell into a tense, pregnant silence.

"Why?" Will asked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm miserable. I don't know what's going on anymore. At least back then, I knew what the rules were. I knew what was going to happen day in and day out. Here, I'm not so sure. The days blend together. The nights are lit up with stars. The days are dark with clouds. It all looks the same. It's quiet. All these new sensations are hitting my brain like a tidal wave, and my brain doesn't know what to do with all the new information. It doesn't know where to put it. So it floats around, confusing me and as the sensations pile up it becomes too much for me. I'm miserable."

"And you don't think I feel the same way? Your misery is my misery. I'm a divorced, middle-aged high school teacher. I've been trying so damn hard to make you feel proud to come back here every night and call this place home. And what has it gotten me? I've been worried sick about you, and you can't even have the decency to tell me where you've gone."

"As _I _recall, you never remembered to get me a cell phone. I have no way _to _tell you where I've gone! I've blown through all the money I brought with me from Boston. I don't have a dime to use the pay phone!"

"Then don't run off like that! Don't worry me to the bone not knowing! It kills me inside that you hate me so much for one goddamn mistake! I was about to throw myself off a roof because I felt like I didn't deserve to be a father!"

"And how do you think I feel? I've been called a failure my entire life, told that I was a horrible daughter. Being tricked like that felt like a punch in the throat."

"I guess we're both miserable people, aren't we? What a sorry pair we make."

"Well, I guess that old saying is true."

Will took a deep breath. "Misery loves company."

_Take a look around, don't you see it? See that you are the only real face in the room… No one here has a clue what you're feeling, but don't feel bad, keep that sadness alive._

_Look at all the happy people, living their lives. Look at all these classic people, there's nothing inside. Look at all these shallow people, telling their lies. Look at all these empty people, people…._

_Don't you know that misery loves company? Yeah-oh! Misery was looking for me. Happiness is a place that don't look good on me, whoa-oh! Misery was looking for me._

_Whoa-oh, misery's my company, whoa-oa, misery was looking for me…_

_Looking for me…._

_The hands are up now, everybody's singing, everybody's moving, they've programmed their feelings… they're synchronizing, and criticizing, don't feel bad, keep that sadness alive…._

_Look at all these happy people, living their lies. Look at all these plastic people, they're dying inside! Look at all these shallow people, telling their lies. Look at all these empty people, people…._

_Don't you know that misery loves company? Whoa-ho! That misery was looking for me? Happiness is a place that don't look good on me, yeah-ho! Misery was looking for me…._

_Whoa-oa, misery's my company, whoa-oa, misery was looking for me…_

_Don't you know this misery loves me? Don't you know this misery loves me? Don't you know this misery loves me? Don't you see that misery loves me?_

_Loves me…_

_So you're tired of running, you're tired of hurting, you're tired of living in their lies. You're tired of listening, you're tired of hurting…. Keep your sadness alive, alive, alive…._

_Don't you know that misery loves company? Yeah-ho! Misery was looking for me? Happiness is a place that don't look good on me, whoa-oa! Misery was looking for me…_

_Don't you know? Misery loves company! Whoa-oa! Misery was looking for me! Happiness is a place that don't look good me. Whoa-ho! Misery was looking for me._

_Whoa-oa, misery loves company, whoa-oa, misery was looking for me!_

"You're right, Daddy. I'm sorry for running off. I guess I've just been molded to be selfish, to think about myself first and never see anything from anyone else's point of view. I'm really sorry."

Will shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I have this habit of getting so fixated on something that it becomes the only thing I think about. I was fixated on getting the glee club to hear your beautiful voice. I was the selfish one. I didn't take your feelings into account and I tricked you to get you to sing. I regret hurting you."

"I do too. Speaking of which, who patched your eye up?" Belle said, running a finger along the gauze patch.

"Rachel. She's a miracle, that one. Never met one like her."

Will fell silent for a moment. He looked Belle in the eyes. "What did you mean when you said you were sick? When you sang 'Infected' in Figgins' office?"

Belle snapped her vision away from Will's eyes and stared at her feet. "I was born this way. I learned what I was when I went to go get my blood work done for my doctor when I was eight."

"That still doesn't answer my question."

"I'm dying, Daddy. I don't know how much time I have left, but it's not a lot. The doctor said I probably won't live to see forty. I'm HIV positive. I've probably been forced to infect dozens, if not a couple hundred people just to bring in money."

Will almost choked on his own breath.

"Yeah." Belle said. "I've been hiding _that _medication in my bag. I didn't want you to find out. I got scared."

"Oh… oh sweetheart…"

"I know. I'm damaged goods and no one can love me. That's what I've been told. No one wants to be around a sick person."

"No… no, never think that. Never think that you cannot be loved. It's not you who is incapable of love, it's your mother. I assume she has the same condition?"

"She has full-blown AIDS, last I knew. She was sharing needles and whoring herself out with some pretty nasty people. Heroin, you know? I'm also diabetic, so I used to use insulin. Mom used to steal my needles and give them back dirty. I've managed to keep my blood sugar levels in check around here, though."

"Is that why you've slowly replaced all the sugar in the house with Splenda over the past month?"

"I tried to be subtle."

"'Subtle' is offering to make the coffee in the morning and just putting Splenda in each cup. 'Obvious' is spending an entire weekend ripping open Splenda packets and emptying them into the sugar bowl. Oh sweetheart… you should have told me. You could go into insulin shock or something, can't you?"

"I don't even care. I'm going to die anyway, why not die in a coma where I can't feel anything?"

"Sweetheart, we're going to get through this. You're going to live as long as you can, and you're going to live happy. I believe in you."

"No one's ever believed in me before."

_(Ahahaha! Ahahaha! Ahahaha!)_

_You always find me (you always find me) makin' time for you,_

_So many dreams to come true!_

_No room for failure, we can't be fooled._

_Take a look at (take a look at) what we've got:_

_Each other for one another,_

_Friends to the end._

_Here we go!_

_We stand together through these hard times._

_Don't let these days pass you on by._

_I believe in, you better believe that_

_I believe in you. (You! You!) Oh (Oh!) yea!_

_(Ahahaha! Ahahaha!)_

_(Ahahaha! Ahahaha!)_

_(Ahahaha! Ahahaha! Ahahaha! Ahahaha!)_

_So now you look at me, while I'm lookin' at you._

_I think to myself: I'm watchin' out for you!_

_Let's take a chance together, never had before!_

_When I think about (When I think about you) thinkin' of you,_

_It feels like there's nothing else to do._

_We took a chance together,_

_Here we go!_

_We stand together through these hard times._

_Don't let these days pass you on by._

_I believe in, you better believe that_

_I believe in you. (You! You!) Oh (Oh!)_

_I know that (Ah-ah!)_

_You want it all!_

_(Oh-ah!)_

_(Oh-ah!)_

_We stand together through these hard times._

_Don't let these days pass you on by._

_I believe in, you better believe that_

_I believe in you. (You! You!) Oh (You!)_

_I believe in, you better believe that (believe it's true!)_

_I believe in you. (Oh!) Oh (Oh!) yea!_

_(Oh yea!)_

_(Oh-oh-oh!)_

Belle watched from her place on the stands as the New Directions and Daddy (for now he was unquestionably Daddy) performed a number that went straight into her tattered soul. And as the music ended, Belle smiled softly to herself.

She clapped and stood up. She went straight up to Will and collapsed in his arms, mumbling "thank you" over and over again. "You didn't have to do this for me. You shouldn't have." She said.

"We wanted to do it. We wanted to show you that no matter what anyone else says or does, the glee club will always be there for you." Rachel said.

"We're a family, and nothing breaks up family." Finn piped in.

"We're a real family. Family doesn't just mean blood. It means love, loyalty, and a bond that can never be broken." Quinn said, fingering her golden cross that never left her neck. Then Quinn smiled and unlatched the necklace from her own neck, and latched it around Belle's. Belle looked at the tiny cross now adorning her thin, pale throat. She reached up and unbuckled the black collar around her neck, taking it off for the first time. Underneath it, a thick, jagged scar marred her creamy throat from one end to the other. _Well, that answers the question of why her voice sounds the way it does… _Will thought with a twang of pain in his heart.

"I've never had real friends before. Everyone at my old school knew who and what I was, and they didn't talk to me. I wasn't bullied. I was completely ignored, made to pretend I didn't exist. No one wanted to touch someone who was infected. They didn't want to catch anything." Belle said.

"Luckily, in Ohio we're a little more educated." Will said, kissing his niece's head.

"It's weird, though. I get bullied here. I get bullied for being the new kid. I get bullied for being shy. I get bullied because I'm related to a teacher so they think I'm getting special treatment-"

"Which you're not, by the way. You're actually getting a C in my class right now, honey. If you don't learn some actual Spanish you're going to have to take the class again." Will interrupted.

"I _told _you, Daddy. I _know _Spanish. I speak fluent Spanish! It's just not the same dialect you teach. Anyway, I'm getting bullied for my clothes, my hair, my place in Glee club, everything. But I'm not upset. At my old school, people didn't even acknowledge I was there. At least here, even though it's negative attention, I'm still getting attention."

". . .Wait, there are different dialects of Spanish?" Finn blurted.

"There are different dialects of every language, Finn. I teach actual Spanish, like, from Spain. Belle speaks Latin Spanish. Like, from Central America."

"Whoa. Cool." Finn said, grinning dumbly.

"Anyway, you don't ever have to feel alone anymore, not with us football players and cheerleaders behind you." Puck said, lifting Belle off the ground and onto his shoulders. Belle squeaked in surprise and held onto his Mohawk tightly. "We'll take care of you, no matter what it takes. That's what family does. A real family looks out for each other."

"Even though I'm really shy and have panic attacks and get really angry and throw chairs at Daddy?"

"Even through all that. Especially through all that." Artie said, reaching his arms up. Puck lifted Belle off his shoulders and into Artie's lap, where Brittany leaned down and hugged her.

Belle sniffled. "This is the first time I've ever felt like I had a real family."

"I promise, this feeling will never go away." Will said. His one good eye was shining, the other still covered by a bandage. Belle got up, stood on tiptoe, and stroked the bandage.

"I'm really sorry I did this to you, Daddy."

"Eh, no permanent damage done. The doctor says I should be able to take the bandage off in a couple more days, and I should be able to see just fine. It was my own damn fault, right? I figure it's just karma biting me in the ass for being a dick."

Belle wrapped her thin, lanky arms around him, and Will smiled into her hair. He beckoned over the rest of the team, and in mere moments a group hug was spotlighted on the stage.


	4. Slipping

Note: Like _hell _we're done.

As always, I don't own Glee, I don't own any copyrighted music or lyrics, and I own nothing. NOTHING! NO SUING. I am making no money off of this! I'm a babysitter, not a copyright-violater.

Just so you all know, you can find me on Twitter. My username there is droiturelereve. Warning: Don't follow me if you're not willing to have your feed spammed by me being an idiot. Occasionally I will post snippets from fanfics, songs I might be using, and bits from my blog. But mostly it's just Glee quotes and talking about my job. Though another warning…. I swear a lot. Sorry.

YES I GET IT. I've been getting emails complaining about how heavily I alter song lyrics. NO, I am NOT doing it to get around copyright laws. I am doing it to fit the character and situation the song is being sung from. Like in Chapter One where I changed the lines from "Suddenly, Seymour", to "Suddenly, You're There". No one in that situation was named Seymour, so why would I keep the line the same? The lyrics got more heavily altered as the chapters went on, but the song itself is still the same. JUST GO WITH IT PEOPLE, I AM THE AUTHOR AND THEREFORE I AM GOD HERE.

Songs Used in this Chapter

Slipping—Neil Patrick Harris—Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog soundtrack (heavily altered lyrics)

Freak Out – Avril Lavigne—Under My Skin (beginning line altered slightly)

**Chapter Four: Slipping**

The phone rang at the Schuester residence on a lazy Saturday morning, and Belle shuffled out of her room to answer it, more than a little annoyed at the rude wake-up call. She felt a little twinge of irritation as she noticed that Daddy apparently had the magical voodoo ability to sleep through a ringing phone.

"Mmph… Hello? Schuester residence, Annabella speaking. May I help you?"

"_Hello, sweetie. It's Ms Dubois, do you remember me?"_

"Uh-huh… sorry, I just woke up. What's up?"

"_I was wondering if I could speak to your uncle for a bit." _

"Uh, sure, hold on…" Belle looked to the couch, where Will lay sleeping since he gave up his bed to Belle. She jabbed him in the ribs with the phone hard, causing him to wake with a start.

"Ahhh! Owww! Mmmmppphhh… what? Too early!" Will complained, dragging the blanket up over his head.

"It's the child services lady on the phone. She needs to talk to you."

"Christ and a half… gimme the phone…" Will dragged himself into a sitting position. "Hullo?"

"_William Schuester?"_

"Speaking."

"_Mister Schuester, there seems to be a problem coming from the legal aspect of things."_

"One-syllable words, please. I literally just woke up." Will said thickly, eyes still closed and mush-mouthed with sleep. He yawned.

"_O…kay then. Um… It seems Annabella's mother is suing you for her custody."_

_THAT _woke Will up. "WHAT? How the _hell _does she plan to win that case? She's out of her mind!"

"_She's planning to testify that because you have not had contact with Annabella for the past fifteen years, you can't be fit to take care of her properly."_

"She's out of her goddamn mind! I'm her _brother!_ Christ, whatever happened to blood being thicker than water?" Will snapped.

"_Blood may be thicker than water, sir, but then again, so is peanut butter. It's my opinion that your sister merely wants her daughter to continue bringing in money for her."_

"She's not getting my little girl! Bull_shit_, she's getting her." Will got up and threw on a shirt hastily, reaching around to try and find a clean pair of pants. He pressed the phone to his chest and looked at Belle. "Honey, get dressed and come on. We have to go down to Miss Dubois' office. Your mother is trying to sue me for custody."

"What? Why? What does she think she's trying to accomplish?"

"I have no idea, but she's not going to win. Not as long as I'm still breathing."

"Damn skippy. I'm not going back there."

"You're not going to. Now go get dressed."

Belle nodded and went to get dressed. Will put the phone back to his head. "I want the address of your office, and I want a number I can contact my sister at. It's high time I gave her a piece of my mind for putting Annabella in the state she's in."

Will grabbed a pen and a scrap piece of paper, writing down the address and number as it was told to him. "We'll be there as soon as we can."

"_I want to prepare you, Mister Schuester. Your sister is here. That's why I called. She showed up in my office demanding her daughter back."_

"Belle!" Will called out as he hung up the phone. "Your mother somehow made her way from Boston to Ohio. She's at Ms Dubois' office."

"Crazy bitch woman! Ooh, I found it! Hold on, Daddy!"

Belle came out of her room wearing the old sun dress that Will had shown to her on her first day.

"Sweetie, do you think you'll feel comfortable wearing that?"

"Mom needs to actually see what she's done to me. So does Ms Dubois." Belle said icily. "They need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will _not _be going back to that place."

"Only if you're sure. I know how you get around people."

"With your support, I'll be just fine."

Will nodded. "I take it your hatred for Mary overrides your panic around people?"

"What can I say? My flight-or-fight instinct was thrown out the window a long time ago. Let's go. If I can claw just one of Mom's eyes out I'll be satisfied."

"I'd prefer you don't claw anyone's eyes out, thanks."

"What? Your face healed just fine. When I lunge at her, I just won't have two meaty football players holding me back."

Will shrugged. "At this point? Whatever. Let's just go so I can finally give Mary a piece of my mind after 20 years."

Will and Belle stalked into the office of one Helena Dubois, where the severe-looking grey suit of the agent was sharply contrasted by a bleach-blonde, fishnet-clad woman with heavy makeup and a cigarette dangling from her crooked teeth. Before any tempers could flare, Ms Dubois got up and took Belle out of the room, going into a separate room to talk to her.

"Oh, look who it is!" the woman said in a hoarse Boston accent. "Little Billy, all grown up! How you been, little brother? Sorry this little reunion wasn't under better circumstances, eh?"

"You and I have _nothing _to say to each other, Mary. You've been gone for twenty years, and this is how you spend your time? This is what you do? I thought you wanted to do something with yourself. I thought you wanted to be great!"

"I _am _great. I'm the best in the business, baby."

"Your _business _landed your daughter in harm's way."

"What, that little bitch? She never appreciated what I gave up to keep her."

"I don't think you understand what your daughter went through!" Will roared.

"Oooh, you've gotten feisty over the years. I remember when you were just little tiny Billy-buddy. Kept your mouth shut, did your homework, ate your vegetables… you were the suck-up. I was the ambitious one. I wanted to be something more than that. What happened to you? You stay with Ma and Pop? Get married? Have the 2.5 kids and a picket fence? Live the American dream? Lemme guess, you're an accountant or something, right?"

Will had to answer through gritted teeth, lest he let out a string of swear words that would melt a sailor's ears, "I'm a high-school teacher." He growled.

"So what, you teach. Lemme guess. You take kids from broken homes and make them feel like they're _worth _something, right? Make them feel like they're not all losers? How do you sleep at night knowing you're just setting them up for failure?"

"I take kids who think they have nothing left, and I make them a part of something! I don't make them _feel _like they're worth something, _I make them worth something! _I teach _show choir. _I take kids who have been beaten down and made to feel nothing, and I make them _happy! _I'm setting them up to _succeed!" _Will roared, so loudly he hurt his own throat.

"Succeed? Ha! Those kids of yours aren't worth shit, just like I'm not worth shit, you're not worth shit, and that little scrawny slut in the other room isn't worth shit. None of us are worth shit. I would have thought you, of all people, would have figured that out."

"You're _wrong. _You are wrong, Mary. I _am _worth something. I'm worth something to myself, and to my kids, and to your daughter. I'm worth everything, and you are worth nothing. You are worth nothing because you don't _deserve _any worth. You brought a child into this world and then immediately set about making her life hell. You never loved her. You abused her and forced her to give up her body and soul to serve you. When she came to live with me, she was completely and utterly broken. She had panic attacks nearly every day, and she still has nightmares. I've lost count the number of nights I've slept by her just to make her feel safe."

"She's pathetic. She'll get over it."

"No, she won't! She doesn't have that ability! You've beaten it out of her! All she knows is how to live with torture! She doesn't know how to solve problems except through pain! She has a panic attack every time she can't answer a question correctly because she expects to be hurt if she gets it wrong! She's associated 'family' with 'abuse'. I've spent these last ten weeks trying to break that! She's part of my show choir! She can actually get up on stage and sing with the other kids now! I'm giving her a solo at Regionals!"

"And you think it's because you're this great parent, right? You know how her mind works?"

"Damn straight I know how she works! I know how she works better than you do! In ten weeks, I've learned more about her than you have in fifteen years. All you care about is yourself, and I am nothing like you."

"And yet, you also know how the legal system works. I'm her mother, so I'll get my bitch back, and I'll go right back to my old ways."

"Why do you hate her so much?" Will asked desperately.

"That little bitch doesn't get it! She keeps going off to that little school of hers, and she never brings in any money. Money I want. And I get what I want. Dumb little bitch doesn't seem to understand that arrangement."

"No, _you _don't seem to understand! Your daughter isn't a soulless automaton designed to up your publicity! She's a living, breathing being!"

"Not for long. Or hasn't she told you? Little whore's got maybe a few years left and I intend to use those years to my advantage. She's damaged goods, but if she picks up a few desperate enough johns-"

Will snapped. Everything he'd been taught about respect towards women just went right out the proverbial window as the back of his hand made contact with his sister's face. Before he could stop himself, his hand had wrapped around Mary's wiry throat, choking off her oxygen.

"_Annabella is not 'damaged'! Annabella is my child now! I will not allow you to take her away from me!" _

Mary dug her thumbnails into Will's hand, causing him to fly back in pain and let go. His eyes were wild with rage.

"She's mine! I gave birth to her! Where were you when I needed help? Where were Ma and Pop when I was pregnant? I do what I do to survive, Billy."

"No! You do what you do because you're a heartless, soulless animal who abandoned her own family to go chase an impossible dream! You're selfish, and you're only focused on making yourself happy. That's why you will _not _win this case. And when I win, and bring Belle back to Lima, my main focus will be _her _happiness. To erase the signs of her past."

Mary smirked. "You really haven't changed, you know. Even back then, you always tried to please everybody else. Are you still married to that little blonde cheerleader?"

"No. Terri and I have been divorced for almost a year now. I don't know where she went, and frankly I don't care. I stopped trying to please everybody else and started standing up for myself."

"And yet, here we are."

Will was about to respond when Belle came back into the room. "Miss Dubois has to leave for a while so she told me to just stay in here. I feel awkward."

"Awkward isn't a real emotion, you cheap little fuck." Mary snarled. "God, Ohio's made you stupid."

"Shut the _fuck _up, Mary. I don't want to hear another word out of you or so help me I _will _throw you out a fucking window. I'm sick of listening to your voice." Will snapped, grasping Belle's waist and sliding her closer to him. His cell phone rang. "Hello?" He answered snappily.

"_Whoa. Mister Schue, are you okay?" _

"Fine, Finn. What's up?"

"_The other glee kids kind of forced me to call you. They cornered me at Breadstix and told me to ask where Belle has been." _

"Belle's been kind of sick lately, Finn. She'll be back next week."

"_Okay, cool. We wanted to know because we wanted to get the choreography down for our number at Regionals."_

"Right, I forgot about that. Ask them if they'd be willing to stay behind for a few days after school to work on it."

There was a rustling and a muffled set of voices on the other end while Finn relayed the question.

"_They all said they can, but Mercedes says she can only stay 'till four and Artie says 'till three. Everyone else is willing to stay as long as they can." _

"Alright, awesome. Thanks, Finn. We'll be back Monday with newfound vigor, right?"

"_Will do, Mr Schuester! Give Belle our best; we really want to see her again." _

Will hung up the phone, slipping it back into his shirt pocket.

"One of your little broken-home kids?"

"My male lead in the show choir." Will replied.

"Oh, lemme guess again. He's one of those skinny little fairy boys who act all pretentious because they're trying to hide."

"He's the captain of the varsity football team."

"Ah, a closet case."

"He's dating my female lead!"

"A cover-up. In my line of business, you learn to spot these things a mile away."

"You need to shut your mouth. You need to shut it right now, or I swear to God there won't be enough left of you to identify when I'm through with you." Will snarled. "I'm here for Belle. And right now, I'm taking her home. To _my _home. Where she belongs."

"She _belongs _nowhere. She's a terminal little freak. She _belongs _in the ground. And she's coming home with me."

Will kept his grip on Belle, his fingers never faltering for a second. Belle held onto him tightly. She felt safe. With Uncle Will, she always felt safe.

Mary reached out a bony hand and grabbed Belle's wrist, trying to drag her away. Belle resisted, screaming. Will got between them and wrenched Mary away, literally throwing her into the back wall, where she landed hard with a loud _crack! _

Will stepped up and put his foot on his sister's wrist, preventing her from getting back up. "If you ever lay a finger on _my _daughter ever again, I will not hesitate to make your life just that much shorter."

Will stepped up a bit, his foot firmly on Mary's arm.

"Your daughter? She's _mine. _You had nothing to do with it."

"Hell hath no fury like poetic justice." Will seethed.

_Look at you, sister, I know you won't listen, why even bother? If you try and take her, you know I will break you and give you to the slaughter… Why can't you see what I see? Why can't you see her eyes? Maybe the fee's too pricey for you to realize, but your disguise is slipping…_

_I think you're slipping…_

_Now that I'm grown and have a life of my own you're beginning to fear me… But like cavemen fear thunder I still have to wonder… can you even hear me? I'll bring you pain, the kind you can't suffer quietly. So fire up your brain, remind you inside your rioting, society is slipping…_

_Everything's slipping away, so…_

_Go ahead! Off the ground! Say it was horrible! Spread the word! Tell a friend, tell them the tale! Hop a plane, back to Boston, your days are over with… Look at you! On the floor! Your ship has set sail! _

_Then I win! Then I get everything you ever…_

_I get to save the little girl here in my arms…_

_Anarchy, that you run! Face it, it's finally my turn… Mary, you have to learn, someday you're going to burn!_

_Burn! Burn!_

_I don't understand it, what happened to Mary, the sister, I knew her?_

_It's gonna be bloody, head up, Billy-buddy, she's not a real Schuester…_

_You're not my sister!_

With his vicious declaration of hate, Will stomped down, and heard a satisfying crack as Mary's left forearm shattered under his foot. Mary screamed, but Will seemed to revel in her pain.

"After all these years, karma has come back to bite you in the ass. You left home without even a goodbye, and for 20 years I thought you were gone completely. Then, your daughter was dropped in my lap. Now, I'm taking your daughter from you, and you won't see her again. Say goodbye, Mary. This is the last you'll ever see of Annabella Maria Schuester."

Will gripped Belle's tiny hand in his own and led the yellow-dressed girl out of the room, leaving Mary on the floor seething. The little brother she thought she knew had changed completely. Mary remembered a time when Will could look at her and smile, 'cause Big Sister was home. Will was so tiny back then. He was little Billy-buddy.

"Daddy? Am I gonna have to go back to Boston?"

Belle asked the innocent question, her voice laden with pain, as she got back into Will's car. Will started the car and screeched out of the parking lot.

"Never. Until the day I die, I'll fight for you. I don't care what kind of lawyer she buys with her dirty whore money. You're _my _daughter now, and I refuse to give you back to the woman who's killing you even now."

Belle smiled darkly as a song came blaring over the car radio.

_**She tries to tell me what I shouldn't do, she should know by now I won't listen to her. Walk around with my hands up in the air, 'cause I don't care. 'Cause I'm alright, I'm fine. Just freak out, let it go. **_

_**I'm gonna live my life! I can't ever run and hide, I won't compromise, 'cause I'll never know.**_

_**I'm gonna close my eyes. I can't watch the time go by, I won't keep it inside, freak out, let it go!**_

_**Just freak out, let it go!**_

_**You don't always have to do everything right, stand up for yourself and put up a fight! Walk around with your hands up in the air like you don't care! 'Cause I'm alright, I'm fine, just freak out let it go.**_

_**I'm gonna live my life! I can't ever run and hide, I won't compromise, 'cause I'll never know!  
I'm gonna close my eyes, I can't watch the time go by, I won't keep it inside, freak out, let it go!**_

_**On my own… Let it go… **_

_**Just let me live my life, I can't run and hide, I won't compromise, 'cause I'll never know…**_

_**I'm gonna close my eyes! I can't watch the time go by, I won't keep it inside, freak out let it go!**_

_**Gonna freak out and let it go!**_

_**Gonna freak out, let it go! **_

Will smiled a bit. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better." He said.

Belle nodded. "Daddy?"

"Yes, honey?"

"I saw the adoption papers on top of the fridge… are you gonna be my real daddy?"

Will's hands tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles going white. He bit his lip and tried to answer. "Um… I… about that…"

"You don't want me." Belle concluded. "I might as well just go back to Boston. You don't want me."

"No! It's not that I don't want you! I do! I really, truly do. I want you to be my daughter! I want to be your father! But I… I _can't _be."

"Why not? I thought all you had to do was sign a few papers and you'd be my real father."

"It's a little more complicated than that, honey. I can't be your father because there would be no mother. Places don't usually let single parents adopt. There are all kinds of risks and problems they can't just ignore, especially if the child to be adopted is… a little off."

"Damaged." Belle said darkly.

"No. No! Not 'damaged'. Not in the sense you're using it. I meant…" Will waved a hand back and forth stiffly, trying to find the right word in his head. "…Psychologically. You've been so hurt for so long that it's going to be… kind of expensive to get the therapy that courts order for psychologically-affected adoptive teens."

Belle growled. "So it's about money for you too? That's all?"

"No! That's not what I said. I said that's what the courts think! Personally, I could appeal to my boss and the school board for a raise, maybe get a second job, and we'd be set. But the court system doesn't look to the future in instances like this. It focuses on the _now. _And _now, _the system won't let me adopt you. Not yet."

Will pulled into his space in the apartment lot and turned the car off. As he stepped out of the car a thought hit him. "Shite. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have broken your mother's arm. That's not going to help my custody case."

"She came at you first, as far as I saw." Belle said airily, twirling in a circle and watching in glee as the skirt of her sun dress billowed around her scarred and scrawny legs. "After all, the law allows for justifiable harm in the case of self-defense."

"Aww, who's my little defense lawyer?" Will cooed, pinching Belle's cheek between his thumb and forefinger cutely.

Belle giggled. "I used to be a prostitute in the inner-city, Daddy. I had to know the ins and outs of more than a few laws."

"Part of Daddy wishes his little defense lawyer didn't keep bringing that up, yes he does!" Will cooed again, only this time it was more sarcastic.

He lifted Belle from the ground and carried her to the front stairs as she squirmed and giggled in protest. He'd figured out a while ago that she was actually quite short, but that old pair of jeans she wore and tiny little sweater just made her look bigger than she really was. She was maybe 5'3" at the tallest to Will's 6' (-ish… Will really didn't know his own height. He made it a mental note to find out.) and so small that Terri's sun dress had practically fallen off when she twirled around in it, and Terri was by no means a large woman. Will estimated her at roughly a size _fucking zero, this girl couldn't weigh less if her bones were made of helium. _Will thought.

Will dropped his squirming daughter (_my daughter, mine now. No one else's. I don't care if I have to kill somebody, this girl is going to be my daughter.) _onto the couch, where she immediately picked up her duffel bag. She rummaged through it, and came up with a big bottle of pills. She downed a few of them with a small swig of the beer Will had never finished from the night before.

"You know, those would probably go down easier if you didn't try to swallow them with alcohol." Will said.

"It was there." Belle said.

"I thought you could take those pills without liquid."

"I can. I have no gag reflex. I can easily take the pills dry, but I hate doing it. I taste chalk for like two hours afterwards. Washing them down is easier."

"With last night's flat beer?"  
"It was _there._" Belle stressed.

"You're _fifteen." _Will stressed in imitation.

"I've been drinking since I was six." Belle said, rolling her eyes.

Will shrugged. "Just don't do it when we have company. I'm not helping you if you get caught for underage drinking."

"Awww, who's my big enabler?" Belle cooed, mocking Will's baby-voice from earlier.

"Shut it, you. What do you want for dinner? You've been on solid food for a couple weeks now. I'm thinking we order Chinese-"

Belle pulled a face.

"…Italian?"

Belle shook her head.

"Pizza?"

Belle nodded.

"Pizza it is. Hand me the phone. What do you want on your pizza?" Will had his own answer already in his head (He was single).

"Everything they can throw on it except pineapples."

"Don't like pineapples?"  
"Allergic."

"You're _allergic _to _pineapples?" _Will asked incredulously. "Is that even a real thing?"

"That depends. Is breaking out in hives, vomiting, and my throat swelling shut classified as an allergic reaction?"

"Um. Yes?" Will replied.

"Then yes. I'm allergic to pineapples. Don't put pineapples on my pizza, please."

"Right. No pineapples." Will dialed the pizza place off his speed dial (he was single!), and the person on the other end addressed him by name (he was _single!). _

After ordering and being assured the pizza would be there in 30 minutes or less, Will hung up the phone. Belle did not miss the speed-dial pizza place. "Eat pizza much?"

"I'm _single." _Will stressed, "Pizza is what lonely divorced teachers and their nieces eat on Saturdays after they've physically assaulted prostitutes in a child services office. That and Chinese food on Christmas. Special occasion, after all."

When the pizza finally arrived, Belle took a few slices and practically swallowed them whole.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down! You're going to choke!" Will said, taking the plate away for a moment.

"Okay. 1) I don't have a gag reflex, so I can't choke on food. 2) I'm hungry." Belle stated simply, reaching for her plate back. Will raised an eyebrow. Belle, now that she wasn't terrified to be around him, had relaxed and revealed that she was actually kind of a brat when she wanted to be. Around other people, she was still timid, polite little Belle, but when it was just her and Will, she loosened up and seemed to have an entirely different personality.

"Again, I really wish you wouldn't bring up the 'no gag reflex' thing. There's a teeny, tiny part of my brain that keeps screaming _you're a dude, Will Schuester! _Every time you say that, and it's really unsettling." Will said, eating his own pizza.

"Then I have succeeded in my mission."

"Your mission." Will repeated, both as a question and a statement.

"Yes, my mission."

"And your mission was to…?"

"Make you as uncomfortable as possible to see how you'd react."

"You really are very evil when you want to be, sweetheart."

Belle beamed at what she perceived as praise. "I know." She said arrogantly, swallowing another entire slice of pizza whole.

"Love, you really should chew your food. Your body is still adjusting to a constant solid food intake. You're going to make yourself sick."

Belle slowed to a stop. "I know."

"Then why keep it up?"

"Maybe it's a way to feel better about myself… maybe I'm sick of cutting myself, so I'm turning to binging on crap food instead."

"You used to cut yourself…?" Will asked.

"Not all of these scars were caused by someone else." Belle said. "But I'm done with that now. You were right, Daddy, I'm messed up in the head, and I need help."

"Why didn't you _tell me?" _Will asked. "I'm more than willing to help you if you just _talk _to me!"

"I'm talking to you now." Belle said. "Help me now!"

Will scooted towards her on the couch and placed her on his lap, holding her close. "Oh, sweetheart… I'm always here to help you. 24/7, 365 days a year. I swear, if you ever need me, just yell for me and I'll be there."

"I love you, Daddy. I don't want to go back to Boston."

"You won't. You won't. As long as I'm still breathing, you're going to be here. With me. Where you belong."


	5. Tomorrow Comes Today

Note: If we were done, I would have put END. I did not, so we keep going. WE KEEP GOING, I SAY! GO, GO, GO!

I don't own Glee or any copyrighted music. Glee belongs to Fox and Ryan Murphy (I think but I could be wrong because I'm bad at remembering things), and any copyrighted music belongs to its proper owner, even if I've changed the lyrics to suit my fancy.

Wow, I just realized how completely insane my tastes in music are. I can go from show tunes, to heavy metal, to pop in like, a heartbeat. I'm so sorry.

Songs Used in this Chapter

Sway—Vanessa Carlton—Be Not Nobody

**Chapter Five: Tomorrow Comes Today**

Will sat tensely in the eerily silent courtroom, Belle on his left and a lawyer on his right. His fingers were tapping on the table, hand twitching. Belle kept her eyes low and her hands folded in her lap, still as a statue except for her rattling, labored breathing. Every once in a while, a small fit of coughing had her reaching for her water bottle. _She's too sick today for this. _Will thought. _Mary pulled strings. She did this on purpose, the filthy bitch. _

Will noticed that every time Belle began coughing, a hand from behind reached up and patted her back to help her. It wasn't for roughly ten minutes his hazy mind recognized Sue Sylvester sitting just behind them, concern in her normally-steely eyes towards the little girl she once sang to in her office.

"Sue?" Will asked. "What are you doing here?"

Sue snorted in annoyance. "I'm here to support _her… HER!" _She said defensively.

Will smiled softly. "Thanks, Sue."

A light pink tinge appeared on Sue's cheeks. "Yeah, well… don't get used to it, Schuester. I'm here for her, not for you. I know what it's like to be neglected and denied the basic comforts of a family. I know what it's like to feel unloved and abandoned by the only mother you've ever known. I don't want that feeling to be in any other little girl."

Finally, the hearing began, and the judge took one look at the scars on Belle's neck, arms, and face, then one look at the gentle man holding her hand. He then looked at the angry glare of the blonde woman with the cast on her arm to the gentle man. In his mind, he sympathized with the gentle man, but knew he had to be impartial.

When asked about why she should be allowed to keep her daughter, Mary responded with a tearful, but arrogant and self-centered testimony about how much her daughter meant to her life, and how much her brother never cared enough about the family to help in hard times, and how broken she would be if her daughter was not returned to her, and even about the incident at the child services office where her arm got broken. Belle almost stood up, hazel eyes wild, about to respond with an objection when Will gently tugged her back down and shook his head. "She'll get hers, sweetheart. I have an ace in the hole with my testimony." Will looked back and gave Sue a thumbs-up, who nodded curtly.

Will got up on the stand and was asked the same question; why should he be allowed to keep Annabella?

"Well, for one thing," he started, "My sister is full of crap. When she says that her daughter is important to her, she's saying she's important to her income. When she says I never cared about the family, I say I cared too much. I always cared about Mary. I simply had no idea where she was. She left home when I was 16. She was 21. I can still remember the day she left. She said, 'I'm gonna be a big Broadway star! You'll see! You're not holding me back any longer!' and walked out the door with little more than the clothes on her back. She never went to college, never tried to better herself. Before she left she was working at Taco Bell, for God's sake. Whereas she was whoring herself out to pay rent in Boston, I stayed in Ohio. I went to college, and got a teaching degree in foreign language.

"I started working at McKinley High as a Spanish teacher. I never heard from my sister again after that, and sooner or later I started to forget all about her. I got married to my high school sweetheart, Terri. We had fifteen years together, though I'd be lying if I said they were 'happy'. Truth be told, I was miserable in that marriage.

"Eventually, I took over the McKinley High glee club, called the New Directions. We won Sectionals our first year but never placed in Regionals, coming behind Vocal Adrenaline and Aural Intensity. In our second year we won Sectionals again, and even now we're gearing up for Regionals, and this time we have Annabella.

"Annabella was literally dropped into my life on a Tuesday morning, as I was getting ready for work. Before that day, I had no idea I had a niece. Hell, I'd basically forgotten I had a sister. Does that make me a terrible person? Probably. But I had just gotten out of my miserable marriage, I was so busy with the glee club, and teaching, and paying the bills, that my brain just sort of pushed away the twenty years my sister wasn't around. She never asked for the family's help, so why would we interfere?  
"As soon as Belle was dropped into my life, I began to change everything. As soon as she told me where she came from and what had happened to her, my entire life was turned upside down. At first, it was hard. She had panic attacks just walking down the street from our apartment building to the mailbox. She cried when she got a question wrong on the homework I had assigned, because she expected suffering. She refused to come anywhere public with me, lest she freak out and have to be taken home. I couldn't even bring her into school until later in the semester.

"I'll admit, I've made a few mistakes. But I'm learning from them the best I can. Yes, I'm single right now, and so the state of Ohio won't let me adopt who I consider to be _my _little girl. Not Mary's! Mary is not fit, mentally or physically, to be a mother to anyone. She forced her daughter from a young age to whore herself out on the streets to bring in money to support her mother's drug habits. She was beaten, abused, raped, lied to, and destroyed. I've seen the scars on my niece's body. I've heard her recount the tales with such haunting in her eyes. No girl of her age could possibly make these stories up.

"I've been working with Belle the best I can. Before she came to live with me, she was completely terrified to face the world. She couldn't even order a cheeseburger from McDonald's for herself, let alone get up on stage with an ensemble of kids like her. Now, I'm giving her a solo at Regionals. Now, she can get up on stage and sing and dance with the other kids. I can bring her grocery shopping. I can bring her to the mall. She's getting straight A's in school right now.

"A solo. Four months ago, giving this girl a solo would have been unheard of. She refused to speak in front of other people, let alone sing. Now, she's getting a whole song all to herself.

"And yes, I will admit, I was the one who shattered my sister's arm at the child services office a few weeks ago. Mary… Mary wouldn't stop! She kept saying all these arrogant, self-centered things, like she was an angel and my little girl was some sort of… demon. She reached for Belle, with the intention to place harm on her, and I acted accordingly to protect who I consider to be my daughter. Yes, I regret going as far as to break her bones. No, I do not regret protecting Belle with the force I considered necessary at the time.

"Truth be told, if I could get away with it in order to protect Belle, I'd put a bullet in my sister's head right now in this courtroom. And if you judge me for that then you simply aren't human. If you give my precious little girl back to the woman who destroyed her, had her raped and beaten repeatedly for money and amusement, and treated her like she was less than human because she was born with an untreatable disease that may very well kill her before she's thirty, then know that I will fight. I will fight tooth and nail to keep my niece safe, because I actually care about her. This…thing that used to call herself my sister is the real demon. She's the one that's less than human to me now. Any creature who can do this to their only child and still call themselves a mother is living a lie."

The courtroom fell eerily silent once more, and all eyes were focused on Will. Will took a few deep breaths to compose himself. "If you'll allow it, your honor, Belle has prepared a little musical number towards Mary. It'll be a bit refreshing from the monotony, won't it? And it will give _her _the chance to reflect her own feelings about the situation. Just because she's not legally an adult doesn't mean she's not mature enough to make her own decisions."

Mary looked horrified as the judge allowed the motion to pass.

Belle stood up shakily and Will darted off the witness stand to take her hand and lead her gently up towards the front.

"All right, honey. Just like we rehearsed, okay? Let out all your feelings and just sing. The people in this courtroom are only here to listen."

Belle took a few deep, rattling breaths, trying to psych herself up. She began to panic, but she peered out through a squinting eye and saw Will's smiling face looking straight at her, and he mouthed '_you can do it.' _

_**Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah…..**_

_**My heart, your hands, gentle my friend!**_

_**Break me, neatly, numb me sweetly!**_

_**Say you would, say you could, say you'd come and stop the rain…**_

_**Say you'd try to hold me tight but you just give me away**_

_**Make me high on lullabies, melodies for me to sway**_

_**Say you would, say you could, you don't do anything…**_

_**Come down, heavy, try and steady….**_

_**Precious ladies love you, love me!**_

_**Say you would, say you could, say you'd come and stop the rain**_

_**Say you'd try to hold me tight but you'd just give me away**_

_**Make me high on lullabies, melodies for me to sway  
Say you would, say you could, but you don't do anything….**_

_**Hold up my head up to the lies you feed me….**_

_**And I'll fall under the spell you cast as you let me down….**_

_**Say you would, say you could, say you'd come and stop the rain**_

_**Say you'd try to hold me tight but you'd just give me away**_

_**Make me high on lullabies, melodies for me to sway**_

_**Say you would, say you could, you don't do anything….**_

_**Say you would, say you could, say you'd come and stop the rain**_

_**Say you'd try to hold me tight but you just give me away**_

_**Make me high on lullabies, melodies for me to sway**_

_**Say you would, say you could, but you don't do anything…**_

_**Say you'd come and stop the rain….**_

_**Say you'd come and stop the rain….**_

_**Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah…**_

Belle opened her eyes to find the judge and jury in tears. The people of the courtroom were staring at Mary with such disdain. Even Will had bitten into his own lip to try and keep from crying. The foreman of the jury jumped up and whispered a unanimous decision into the judge's ear.

The judge composed himself. "Well normally, these hearings can take weeks, but I think we've heard quite enough. I hereby grant full custody and parental rights to William Schuester. I think it's clear to everybody that Miss Mary here is not fit in any way to be granted even partial custody of her daughter. I will be making an exception for you, Mr Schuester. Normally the mother is given custody. Do not make me regret my decision. As for you, Miss Mary, you will be remanded in Boston awaiting a trial for sex trafficking, child pornography and child prostitution charges, child endangerment, child neglect, child abuse, and multiple drug abuse charges." The judge banged his gavel and Belle jumped into Will's awaiting arms, and he spun her around in pure happiness. Mary was dragged off in handcuffs, screaming bloody murder (intermixed with more than a few creative expletives) about how "THAT BITCH IS MINE, BILLY!" and "I FUCKING HATE YOU! YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING!" among other things.

Will stopped spinning Belle, but kept her hiked up on his hip like a little kid. "Your honor, while I appreciate your decision and respect it, can I ask a question? Am I allowed to adopt Belle now?"

The judge frowned. "I'm sorry, sir, but I cannot bend the rules quite that much. Until there are two financial providers on the adoption forms, or you can prove that you alone make enough money to financially support a legal dependent, the state of Ohio cannot allow you to adopt her."

Will sighed sadly. He put Belle down, who immediately tried to stifle a coughing fit by gulping down water. It failed and she ended up squeak-coughing as she spluttered water down the front of her pretty little black and red dress, which Will had come across in the mall on his way to pick himself up a new suit jacket and brought home for her. She had instantly fallen in love with it, wearing it around the house and only taking it off to wash it every night so she could wear it again the next day.

Will tried to help curb the coughing by thumping the girl on the back a bit.

The judge and most of the courtroom filed out, leaving only Will, Belle, and a few others behind, but soon only Sue was left in the back.

Sue walked up, snickering. "-snerk- 'Billy'? Does she seriously call you that? That's ridiculous."

Will rolled his eyes. "Shut _up._" He whined. "I know, I know. She and my parents are the only ones who ever called me Billy. I always hated that name. It made me feel like that stereotypical fat kid with the striped shirt and baseball cap in all the Saturday morning cartoons."

"You know that whenever you make me mad, I have blackmail material, right Daddy?" Belle rasped, giggling.

"I like her. She's a good kid. She's got a good head on her shoulders." Sue said, holding Belle to her side and ruffling Belle's spiraling dirty-blonde pigtails. She looked down at Belle.

"Sweetie, could you go wait in your dad's car? I need to talk to him for a second."

"Okay, Miss Sue. Oh, before I forget… Can I join Cheerios?"

"Show me a triple backflip on your way out and I'll order you a uniform."

Belle shrugged and built up energy in her powerful lower legs, using them to propel herself over backwards three times, landing on her knees.

Will gaped. "I didn't know you could do that!"

"You have no idea the number of guys I've had to kick in the face. My legs are stronger than my arms will ever be." Belle retorted before darting out the door.

Will smirked. "She surprises me more and more every day. One day she's too sick to even get out of bed and the next day she's doing triple backflips out the door of a courthouse."

"HIV is a tricky disease. Some people who have it don't even know they have it, and some people who have it know damn well that they do. Everyone who's got it desperately wishes they didn't. I read Annabella's file. She's missed a lot of classes this past semester. HIV is a terrible thing to have, even worse to be born with it."

"You seem to know a lot about it."

"I'm not a sufferer, if that's what you're implying, but I've known people who do. I…" Sue looked Will dead in the eyes and Will was stunned at the uncharacteristically gentle shimmer he saw there. "I want to help you, William. I want to help Annabella."

Will's eyes widened as he realized what Sue wanted. "You… you want to—"

"_Yes, _you idiot. I want to put my name on the adoption forms as her mother." Sue thumped Will on the back of the head, as if she were talking to an idiot.

"You _realize _what you're doing, right? You hate me. Why would you want to help me?"

"Despite my immense loathing for your theft of half my Cheerios budget, that ridiculous sweater vest collection you own, your undying and annoying insistence that your little ragtag band of misfit minstrels can win Regionals, and that giant steel wool pad you call a hairdo, I don't hate you entirely as a man and as an educator, and after hearing through my many powerful connections that this entire custody struggle was going on, I decided that helping you keep this young lady living with a family who will actually care for her was in my best interest as a decent human being." Sue rattled off quickly, face turning redder and redder with each passing second.

Will smiled. "God, this means so much to me."

"Don't get used to it, Schuester. This doesn't mean I suddenly _like _you or some idiotic nonsense like that. It's strictly for the girl's sake."

Will smirked. "Sure, Sue. However, you need to really think about this. You say you can't stand me, that you don't like me, and yet you're willing to legally bond yourself to the Schuester family for life. You say you can't stand my glee club, and yet you blackmailed Figgins into giving us an extra year when we failed to place at Regionals last year. You say so many things and contradict yourself through actions. Why is that, Sue?"

"Because I… I don't know! You think I like being this way, Will? You think I enjoy being completely and utterly unapproachable? I know what it's like to be unloved by the people who are supposed to be raising you. I know what it's like to be completely abandoned by the only mother you've ever known and to have your father never around. I know what it's like to put up walls and barriers between my little fantasy world and the reality I didn't want to face! Belle and I aren't so different. She reacted to her upbringing through fear of the world, random panic attacks, and over-emotionalism. I reacted by shutting down completely. I became an empty shell of a person, using fear to get what I want and tormenting others to lash out over the frustration I felt as a child. In my little fantasy world, I ruled over the ones who tormented me! In hers, she's simply alive and well. I know what it's like to be shuffled around from place to place, trying to pretend that my life wasn't as bad as it was." Sue burst forth, her past pouring out of her like a waterfall of emotion.

"I… I never knew that." Will responded quietly.

"Of course you didn't. I never told anyone. But I don't want to be this way anymore. My halls are lined with trophies, not pictures. My walls are papered with certificates and ribbons, but nothing else. It's a hollow existence, but working so hard towards my next national title stops my mind from remembering who I used to be. It makes it easier to focus on what's not actually important, so I can pretend I'm really the nasty, prickly person everyone sees on the outside."

"So, what? This is just redemption to you?" Will snapped, misinterpreting her words. "A way to 'give back'?"

"NO!" Sue roared. "Haven't you been listening to me? I want to help! I truly do! I've seen what girls like her become! They become me! I don't want what happened to me to happen to anybody else! I want to see her shine the way she's meant to! I sang to her in my office that day, I know in my heart that a girl like her is _not _supposed to be in that much pain. I _care _about her, and although you're not my favorite person in the world, I don't hate you as much as I let on!"

The pair fell silent.

Will sighed. "Okay. I'll accept your proposition. I'll call you and we'll try to set up a time to meet."

"Okay."

Will turned and walked out, picking up the bottle of water Belle had left behind.  
When Will got into his car, he noticed the backseat occupied by a sleeping, stretched-out Annabella, two seatbelts securing her in. He started the car and drove back towards home, Sue's words ringing around in his head like angry bulls.

_I've seen what girls like her become._

_They become me._

_I know what it's like to put up barriers between my little fantasy world and the reality I didn't want to face._

_I don't want what happened to me to happen to anybody else._

_I care about her._

_I want to help._


	6. Whispers in the Dark

Note: Story's getting good? No? Come on, folks, I'm running out of steam. Reviews recharge my batteries.

Oh my God. This chapter was pushed back a day because I had jury duty. Being an adult sucks. Goddammitalltohell…

EIGHT HOURS I WAS IN THAT COURTHOUSE. EIGHT HOURS LISTENING TO LAWYERS TALK IN THAT WEIRD LAWYER LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK.

But enough about my personal problems. On to the story.

Oh, you'll notice later on I make a reference to CSI: Miami. This is funny because Matthew Morrison (the guy who plays Will) was on an episode of CSI: Miami. SPOILER ALERT: He was the murderer. They shaved his head, making him look like a cancer patient, and they passed up a better-than-perfect opportunity to get his shirt off. But overall, very good episode. One of my favorites.

I don't own Glee or CSI: Miami and any copyrighted music belongs to the original artists or whatever.

Songs Used in this Chapter:

Bad Day—Daniel Powter—(If anyone knows the album this is from, please tell me. I never found out.)

Uprising—Muse—The Resistance

**Chapter Six: Whispers in the Dark**

"Alright! You guys are doing great! I think we'll blow Vocal Adrenaline _and _The Warblers out of the water with this number!"

The kids cheered and hugged each other in their costumes for dress rehearsal. Girls were in short, stereotypical "sexy nurse" costumes made out of white PVC, complete with crazy-high platform shoes and prop scalpels, covered in stitches doodled on with makeup, and the guys were in scary 1940's witch-doctor costumes, complete with the bird-like white masks perched on the top of their heads and long shiny black PVC trenchcoats hanging down to their ankles. Their number was "We Started this Opera Sh*t" from the iconic cult classic Repo! The Genetic Opera, slightly altered to be not so risqué.

Instead of the lengthy lesbian make-out sequence the movie provided, each girl was to strike a pose and give their first name. Instead of the nude "single mom" role, Annabella was to play the role wearing a tight-fitting, flatteringly flared little dress, and she'd had an idea to change the lyrics slightly. (from "GeneCo showed this single mom sympathy" to "The world showed this little girl sympathy", which Will thought was an amazingly creative idea). Due to her costume being different to everyone else's, Will had the others make a symmetrical formation around her, so even when she was in the chorus she was visible to the audience. Also, instead of the violent coughing the conductor character went through in the movie, Will decided to keep Puck (in a blood-red costume as opposed to the black of the rest of the guys), singing cleanly. The judges probably hadn't seen the movie and violent coughing would come off as unprofessional.

After that first number, they were to launch into Muse's "Uprising", which had Belle soloing on lead vocals and upon completing that number they were to finish off with a big finale, re-doing the Thriller/Heads Will Roll mash-up they'd done for the McKinley football championship half-time performance, only this time they wouldn't have the band, so each kid had a significantly bigger dance role, but Will had faith in all of them.  
Each number had the full heart and soul of all his clubbers in it, and that's what would make it better than whatever Vocal Adrenaline or The Warblers could possibly come out with. Will felt a tiny pang of hurt when he thought of the Warblers. They'd be competing against Kurt fairly heavily, and Will worried about how it would strain Finn's relationship with his stepbrother.

Will shook the thought from his head, watching the soul of his group shine.

Will snickered a little to himself as he remembered the words of two Vocal Adrenaline leads before last year's Regionals. (_"They did a funk number. We've never been able to pull off a funk number." "That's because we're soulless automatons." "I'm so depressed."_)

"Alright guys, get changed and get outta here. It's like five PM already."

The kids filed off backstage, into the dressing rooms. Rachel turned to Belle.

"You were really good up there! You're getting better at projecting your voice. Not as good as me, of course, because I'm the best in the world, but you're really very good. If you need help, call me 'cause I can totally help you. I am amazing, after all."

Belle's mouth twitched. "Thanks. I know that means a lot, coming from you."

Rachel smiled and ran off towards her own dressing stall.

Santana came strutting up. "Don't screw us over at Regionals, sweetie. I'm not in the mood to lose again."

"I-I won't. I'm getting better."

"Don't be so sure. There's gonna be a couple _thousand _people in the theater come Regionals. If you get stage fright and fuck us all over, there will be repercussions. On your face. You may have been just handed a solo 'cause you're Mr Schue's niece, but you have to earn my respect about it."

"I'm not going to freak out! I'm going to be great and we're gonna win!" Belle said. "And I _did _earn that solo! Daddy made me work for that solo! I didn't just get it!"

Santana made a noncommittal sound and went into another stall. Belle huffed, trying not to cry. She really didn't like Santana all that much. Santana was pretty mean sometimes. She stalked into a dressing room stall, locking the door behind her. She waited until everyone had filed out (_**one… two….three….**_she counted the pairs of feet passing by her stall) before breaking down and crying.

What if she really wasn't ready? What if this was going to end in disaster? What if she had a panic attack and let down the entire glee club? They'd worked so hard to get here, and she was just dropped into their lives halfway through, like some pathetic write-in character shoved into a lonely sitcom to boost sagging ratings. She was a walking cliché, and she knew it. She felt disgusting, like the filthy whore she was less than a few short months ago. She felt like she didn't deserve to be there, like she was destined to be cast aside like she'd been so many times before.

She stumbled into the bathroom, still wearing her costume, and threw up into the closest toilet. Repeatedly. Quinn was passing back by the bathroom to grab her purse, which she'd forgotten in her dressing room stall. She heard the unmistakable noise of violent retching from the bathroom and ran inside.

"Ohmygod, Belle! Are you alright?" Quinn asked desperately, dropping down to her knees to hold back Belle's hair. Belle stopped puking long enough to press the flusher on the toilet and look painfully up at Quinn. "Belle?"

"I-I'm not good enough. I know I'm not good enough. Santana was right, I will just fuck up and let everybody down." Belle started crying. "I don't deserve this!"

"No, don't say that. Belle! You worked hard for your solo. I know you did. You've been working twice as hard as everybody else just to catch up, and harder still to keep up. I know being sick means you miss a lot of class time. You've been working so hard. You deserve this most of all. You deserve to prove that you can get up there on stage in front of all those people and sing your heart out. You can do it. All of us know you can."

"But Santana said-"

"Don't listen to Santana. She makes it her duty to be a bitch to everyone. That's just how she is. Listen to me, and the rest of the club. Even Rachel is praising you, and her main form of communication is passive-aggressive 'advice' and backhanded compliments. You're really good. Fantastic. Phenomenal, even. Your voice is certainly better than mine. Your only problem is your self-confidence."

"I've been broken down and ripped apart so many times… how do I make myself believe?"

"Well, for one thing, you can't make yourself do anything. You have to let it happen naturally. Now come on up out of there. I've got some mouthwash in my purse you can use."

Belle stood up. "How come you carry mouthwash around?"

"I'm not sure. I just kinda do. But here." Quinn handed the little bottle to Belle. "Go ahead, use the rest. I've got another one in my locker."

Belle smiled. "Thank you."

Belle dumped the contents of the little travel-sized bottle into her mouth, swirling it around to eliminate the taste of vomit. She spit it out into the sink and disposed of the little bottle.

"I just feel like such a failure, you know? Daddy's worked so hard to try and make me better, but he's got nothing to show for it. I'm no better. I still can't go out to the mall with him, you know that? Or grocery shopping. I still can't order my own fast food without crying and running back out to the car. I can sing in front of you guys, and in front of Daddy, but that's it. You've seen what happens to me when I get scared. I sang at the custody hearing, but my eyes were closed the whole time. I tried to pretend it was you guys. I'm pretty sure I fucked up the notes more than a few times."

"Regionals isn't for another month. In that month, I know that you can get better."

"How are you guys supposed to do in one month what Daddy couldn't do in four?"

"Because there's like, a dozen-and-a-half of us and only one Mr Schuester. You can't argue with that math. We'll build you up so you can shine the way you're meant to."

Belle coughed a little and smiled. "Thanks, Quinn."

"We're all here for you. Having one bad day or two doesn't mean you're a failure. It means you're human."

_Where is the moment when needed the most?_

_You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost…_

_You tell me your blue skies fade to grey, and tell me your passion's gone away,_

_And I don't need no carryin' on!_

_You stand in the line just to hit a new low…_

_You're fakin' a smile with the coffee to go…_

_You're falling to pieces every time_

_And I don't need no carryin' on!_

'_Cause you had a bad day, you're takin' one down_

_You sing a sad song just to turn it around!_

_You say you don't know, now tell me, don't lie!_

_You work on a smile and you go for a ride…_

_You had a bad day, the camera don't lie_

_You're comin' back down and you really don't lie_

_You had a bad day._

_You had a bad day._

_Well you need a blue sky holiday_

_The point is they laugh at what you say_

_And I don't need no carryin' on!_

'_Cause you had a bad day, you're takin' one down_

_You sing a sad song just to turn it around!_

_You say you don't know, now tell me, don't lie!_

_You work on a smile and you go for a ride…_

_You had a bad day, the camera don't lie_

_You're comin' back down and you really don't mind_

_You had a bad day. _

_Mmm, on a holiday…._

_Sometimes the system goes on the blink…_

_And the whole thing turns out wrong!_

_You might not make it back and you know_

_That you could be well, oh that strong_

_And I'm not wrong!_

_So where is the passion when you need it the most?_

_Oh, you and I…_

_We kick up the leaves and the magic is lost… _

'_Cause you had a bad day, you're takin' one down_

_You sing a sad song just to turn it around!_

_You say you don't know, now tell me, don't lie!_

_You work on a smile and you go for a ride…_

_You had a bad day, you see what you're like_

_And how does it feel a-one more time? You had a bad day!_

_You had a bad day,_

_You had a bad day. _

_Had a bad day, had a bad day, had a bad day._

Quinn stopped singing and looked over at Belle. "I was pregnant for Sectionals and Regionals last year. We had the second slot at Regionals, and Vocal Adrenaline had the third. While Vocal Adrenaline was on stage, I went into labor. I had my baby, and gave her up for adoption. You know who adopted her? Shelby Corcoran, the coach for Vocal Adrenaline, before she retired from coaching. Vocal Adrenaline has a new coach now, and they're slated to be even better."

"So you know what it's like to feel like a failure, then. To feel like if you had only done things differently, things wouldn't have blown up in your face."

"Exactly. Don't worry. All of us are failures. But we can take that failure and turn it into something great."

There was a knock on the bathroom door and Will's voice came through. "Quinn? Your mom's here to take you home. Is Belle in there with you?"

"Yeah. Hold on, Mister Schue." Quinn unlocked the door and stepped out, Belle right behind her.

"Thank you, Quinn." Belle said.

"Remember what I said, Belle, okay? We all have a bad day once in a while, but even the worst day can be made better if you just believe in yourself. I want to see you shine at Regionals!"

"I will, Quinn, and thanks again!" Belle called as Quinn skipped off to meet her mother.

Will turned to Belle. "Ha-ha, what was all that about?"

"Nothing, Daddy. Nothing. Let's go home, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan. You got an idea of what you want for dinner?"

"Can I try and make something?"

"If you think you can."

Belle's attempt in the kitchen was messy, and ended with maple syrup ending up in some fairly strange places (Will was confident in his assumption that that particular ceiling fan would never work quite the same way again) but in the end, was edible. She'd made a maple-cured ham steak.

"This is actually pretty good." Will complimented.

"I kinda just read the directions on the package."

"That's what they're there for. I can't cook either, but the directions are there for a reason."

"I was just getting sick of pizza and Chinese takeout." Belle said.

"I'm a divorced, middle-aged high school teacher, okay? That's what we eat." Will protested, gaining a little giggle from Belle. They ate in silence for a few minutes.

"Daddy?" Belle asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"Do you really think I can perform at Regionals? What if I have a panic attack?"

"I have confidence that you won't. You'll do great. I promise that I'll be looking right at you the whole time, and you'll be fine. Why, did one of the other kids say something to you?"

"Santana was kind of mean to me, and then I got scared that I wasn't good enough, and I ran into the bathroom and started throwing up, and Quinn found me in there and sang to me and told me that Santana was a bitch to everyone."

"She is." Will affirmed. Belle raised an eyebrow.

"As a teacher, aren't you supposed to not take favorites or lack thereof?"

"I'm not teaching right now, am I? No, I am not. Therefore, at this particular moment, I am not a teacher, I am just Joe Schmoe. And as Joe Schmoe, I have the clear and distinct opinion that Santana Lopez is, indeed, as has been previously stated, a bitch." Will said.

"You're kind of weird, Daddy."

"I'm _straight _and I direct a _show choir _for _pleasure. _Does that scream 'normal' to you?" Will accused jokingly.

"I'm a former child prostitute from the inner-city slums. That's not exactly the picture of normality either."

Will shrugged. "We're a sorry pair, you and me. But I guess that's why we tolerate each other."

"You're _so _mean." Belle said, giggling and sticking her tongue out.

"I'm kidding, sweetheart. You know I love you."

Belle got up and put her plate in the sink, along with the beer bottle she'd taken from the fridge. (At this point Will stopped trying to stop her; she was strong-willed and a happier drunk anyway. He did like to rib her about it though.) Will followed suit. "You keep drinking all my beer and our neighbors are gonna think I'm an alcoholic." He joked.

"I saw your recycling bin the day I moved in, Daddy. If they didn't already think you were an alcoholic I'd be surprised."

"I don't drink _that _much." Will protested.

"Not anymore, you don't. Because I keep drinking all the beer."

"Oh, I see. It's a preventative measure then."

"Yep. If it's in my belly it's not in yours."

"Little parasite."

"I love you too."

"You're like a tapeworm. A beer tapeworm."

"I'm _your_ beer tapeworm."

"I liked you better when you were too scared to talk to me."

"No you didn't, or you wouldn't have worked so hard to fix me."

"Eh, a guy needs a hobby. At least I'm not out serial murdering."

"You spend too much time watching CSI: Miami, Daddy."

"And you're spending too much time with Coach Sue. OH DAMN! That's right! I forgot!" Will suddenly exclaimed, launching himself for his cell phone and barely managing to grasp it between stretching fingers before he went tripping and stumbling over himself to the floor. He got up, brushed himself off hastily, and scooted outside the apartment into the hallway between units to dial the phone, leaving Belle still in the kitchen, blinking and utterly confused as to what the _hell _just happened.

Belle decided it was probably better if she didn't understand and padded her way back into her room to practice for Regionals. She stood in front of her mirror and sang to herself, trying to get it perfect.

_**Paranoia is in bloom, the P.R. transmissions will resume…**_

_**They try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down and hope that we will never see the truth around…**_

_**Another promise, another scene… another package like to keep us trapped in greed**_

_**And all the green belts wrapped around our minds and endless red tape to keep the truth confined…**_

_**They will not force us! They will stop degrading us! They will not control us! We will be victorious!**_

_**Interchanging mind control, come let the revolution take its toll**_

_**If you could flick a switch and open your third eye and see that we should never be afraid to die…**_

_**Rise up and take the power back. It's time the fat cats had a heart attack, you know that their time's coming to an end.**_

_**It's time to unify and watch our flag ascend. **_

_**They will not force us! They will stop degrading us! They will not control us! We will be victorious! **_

_**Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! **_

_**Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!**_

_**Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!**_

_**They will not force us! They will stop degrading us! They will not control us! We will be victorious! **_

_**Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!**_

She ended her song, just as she heard Will cheering in happiness outside, whooping in victory and coming back inside the confines of the apartment with his arms in the air and a goofy, victorious expression on his face, cell phone in hand.

"Daddy?" Belle asked, completely confused.

"Don't mind me, sweetie! Daddy just sealed a really awesome deal, but it's a surprise, okay? Focus on Regionals for now. I don't want to distract you."

"Oh…kay. I'm just gonna… go head to Quinn's house until you stop grinning like that. It's really creepy." Belle grabbed the house phone and Will's cell phone out of his hand. She scrolled down until she found Quinn's number (as Will had every clubber's number in case of emergency), and dialed the home phone with her other hand. She took the phone into her room as Quinn's mom answered.

"Oh, uh… is Quinn home?" Belle said in her tiny, 'I'm-afraid-of-you' voice.

Once Quinn herself picked up, Belle closed her bedroom door. Will, still grinning like an idiot, sat down on the couch and turned on some Spanish soap opera he vaguely remembered following. (The newest plot twist involved Nicole's husband Marco having a secret love affair with Nicole's best gay friend Lawrence, and Nicole's sister Maria sleeping with her former college professor Doctor Rodriguez, who also happens to be Lawrence's father. But you didn't hear it from Will!)

Belle eventually came out of her room, hung the phone back up, and trotted out the door, with only a vague warning to "Be home by 10ish. 11. 11ish!" from Will, still grinning and following the terrible acting on the television.

"Oh my God, Quinn, he was acting insane. We were having like, playful daddy-daughter banter, and then suddenly he darts for the phone. Like, five minutes later he comes back in with the world's stupidest expression on his face and his arms in the air." Belle explained once she'd gotten to Quinn's house, sitting cross-legged on her bed, hunched over with a steaming mug of cocoa.

"Do you know why?" Quinn asked.

Belle shrugged. "No idea. We were talking about beer, and then tapeworms, and then CSI, and how I'm a Cheerio now, and then nothing. He just ran out with his cell phone."

"That's an odd path for a conversation to take."

"Don't ask me. He made some joke about how the neighbors think he's an alcoholic, and then something about tapeworms, and then something about Coach Sue. I don't even know." Belle said. "I lost track when he came back in with that doofy open-mouth expression. It looked like he'd just been kicked in the dick, but he was happy about it. I have no idea. He turned on some Spanish soap opera and I left."

"That's actually a really funny image in my head."

"It's more terrifying in person." Belle said, shuddering a little.

"I can imagine. I think all us girls have some sort of sexualized vision of Mr Schuester in our heads, but then we come back the next day only to remember that he's actually kind of a doof."

"Yeah, well, I have to live with him. You think the few hours with him a day is doofy, imagine what he's like at 2 in the morning, unshaved, shirtless, with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon in his hands, sobbing over some Spanish soap opera. It's both terrifying and pathetic."

"Why does he watch soap operas shirtless at 2AM?"

"No idea, though I don't particularly care to find out."

"He's such a woman sometimes. Are you sure he's straight?" Quinn asked, giggling.

"At this point I have no idea. I mean, I'm asexual. I had sex for a living, but when left to my own devices, I'd prefer to never see another naked human being again. So being asexual, I have no concept of what normal 'straight' behavior is. He says he's straight, though." Belle said, taking a long gulp from her cocoa.

"He really is unlucky with women, though. His ex-wife was crazy, he tried to date a virgin who was terrified to get within two feet of him, and then he dated our sex ed. teacher, which didn't end well for him."

"Really? How did that end?"

"I honestly have no idea. She just sort of…stopped being around. I think she just moved on. In any case, she isn't around anymore. But women in general seem to flock all over him, and then just sort of…disappear."

Belle's eyes widened. "Maybe he _is _a crazy serial killer."

"What?"  
"No-no-no-no-no! Hear me out! We were talking, and he told me he needs a hobby so he doesn't go out serial murdering or something along those lines. _What if my uncle is a crazy murderer?"_

"You're delusional. Mr Schuester wouldn't hurt a fly. He's almost too nice for his own good!"

"_That's how it starts! They're super nice on the outside but then they—"_

Quinn promptly slapped Belle across the face, shutting her up. "Sorry I had to do that."

Belle gasped for air for a moment. "While I'm appreciative of your efforts to bring me back to the realms of reality, Quinn, please refrain from hitting me. It just took everything I had to not have a flashback seizure right there."

"Oh, goodness. I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to freak you out like that."

"No. I'm okay. It's fine. Just…please don't do it again."

"I won't."

Meanwhile, Doctor Rodriguez and Maria were trying to figure out what to do about Maria's sudden pregnancy, and Will had a spoon shoved deep into a jar of peanut butter, hunched over, turning the volume up higher.


	7. Beauty and the Beast

Note: Sorry the last chapter ended weirdly. It was more of a set-up for this chapter, I think. Or maybe I just had a really weird urge for peanut butter.

I still don't own Glee or any copyrighted music.

Songs Used in This Chapter:

We Started This Opera Sh*T!—Repo! The Genetic Opera (lyrics altered slightly)

Legal Assassin—Same (lyrics altered slightly)

Genetic Emancipation—Same (lyrics unaltered)

Genetic Repo Man- Same (lyrics unaltered, no instance of "Repo Man" chorus)

**Chapter Seven: Beauty and the Beast**

Regionals was here. The kids were lined up in costume, outside the doors into the auditorium, waiting to blast their way in with their song list, which now consisted of three different songs from Repo! The Genetic Opera (to better fit the costumes). We Started This Opera Sh*T!, Legal Assassin, and Genetic Emancipation now graced their set list. The Warblers had already done their act, three different acapella Katy Perry songs led by Blaine and Kurt (who Finn pointed out to Belle and said "That guy? That one right there? He's my stepbrother. We're gonna kick his ass." With a grin on his face). The crowd did their thing, and waited. Backstage, Will started the opening piano piece, hooked into a microphone that led through the speakers.

The kids blasted into the auditorium.

_Everybody, everybody __**get down, get down now**_

_S-s-s-stand up! __**Don't be shy.**_

_People, people, people! __**Get up, get up, get up!**_

_Everybody, everybody testify!_

_Everybody, everybody! Get down, get down now!_

_S-s-s-stand up, don't be shy!_

_People, people, people! Get up! Get up! Get up!_

_Everybody __**TESTIFY!**_

_**Testify! Testify! Testify!**_

_State your names!_

_S-s-s-s-s-saved!_

_Everybody, everybody __**Get down, get down now!**_

_**S-s-s-stand up, don't be shy! People, people people, get up, get up, get up!**_

_**I needed a kidney transplant desperately! The world showed this little girl sympathy! This makeover came for a small added fee! Now I look smashing on live TV!**_

_Be healed! _

_You know you want it baby, and we've got it…_

_You know you want it baby, and we've got it…_

_All I really needed…. Oh, I've got to have it…._

_All I really needed… All I need is that trophy!_

_Testify! Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey! _

_Hey, hey! Hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey!_

_**Everybody, everybody, make your genetics your bitch!**_

_**TESTIFY!**_

The spotlights crashed off for half a moment, and then one lone spotlight centered on Puck. Will had decided to keep the lyrics to this song exactly the same, partly because of the message of the song and partly because he'd been up all night calming Belle's night terrors and felt particularly lazy and didn't want to rewrite the song. The only part he changed was the names involved with the song. "Nathan" was changed to "Noah", "Marni" was changed to "Baby", and "Shilo" was changed to "Daughter".

_**Killer! Killer, murderer! Killer! Murderer….killer….Murderer! Noah….Noah….Noah!**_

_Where did our daughter go? It's me she must escape… my burdens I can't erase…. The mother I might have saved._

_**Assassin, murderer, monster!**_

_Baby, I need you know, look what I've become…. The nightmare that she should fear…is the father you left alone!_

_**Assassin, murderer, monster! Assassin, murderer, monster! Assassin, murderer, monster!**_

_The years go by without you, baby… 17 have come and gone…. I've raised our daughter with the best intentions…_

_But there is something I can't tell her… I am lost without you here! I am only living out a lie!_

_Our daughter can never leave! She is my everything! Nothing can bring you back! Our daughter is all I have!_

_**Assassin, murderer, monster…. Assassin, murderer, monster…. Assassin, murderer, monster….**_

_The years go by without you, baby… 17 have come and gone…. I've raised our daughter with the best intentions…_

_But there is something I can't tell her… I am lost without you here! I am only living out a lie!_

_I am the __**monster….**_

_**I am the villain…**_

_**What perfection!**_

_**What precision!**_

_**Clean incisions, I deliver, unscathed organs, I deliver, repossessions, I deliver! I am the Repo! Legal Assassin!**_

With the crowd sufficiently terrified at Puck's "evil" impression, and the slicing motions done with the knife prop hidden in his blood-red sleeve, Belle took center stage. Will could see from his place backstage that she was certainly very close to having a panic attack at all the faces staring at her. Will began the music, hoping it would snap her out of it.

Belle dropped her head and began to take rattling breaths, and for a moment Puck, standing behind her, was terrified that she was going to keel over and die onstage. The Puckzilla may have been a badass mo'fo', but he certainly didn't want this poor girl to just die in front of him.

_**Years…. It's been so many years…. Resenting the years…. And my heredity….**_

_**Ohhh, I have hated and loved you, I have hidden behind you, but I finally see…**_

_**You, I've mistaken for destiny but the truth is my legacy is not up to my genes….**_

_**True, though the imprint is deep in me, it will always be up to me, up to me….**_

_**Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh free at last…**_

_**Oh…. Oh-oh-oh-oh… oh-oh-oh… **__**Free at last!**_

_**Ah, ah ah! Ahh, ahhh…..**_

The girls filed out of the auditorium, same file as which they arrived, back through the aisles the same way they'd come, leaving the boys onstage. As a final, surprise number, the boys decided to do Genetic Repo Man, before filing off themselves.

_Out from the night, from the mist steps a figure. No one really knows his name for sure. He stands at 6'6", head and shoulders. Pray he never comes knocking at your door. Say that you once bought a heart or new corneas, and somehow never managed to square away your debts. He won't bother to write or to phone you… he'll just rip the still beating heart from your chest! Now, you could run. You could hide. You could try to. But he always has a way of finding you. He will come at your weakest hour, when no one is around who might rescue you. And none of us are free from this horror, for many years ago, we all fell in debt. New body parts were needed to perfect our image, and until our debts are clear, we will live in fear of the-!_

The spotlights shut off, and when they turned back on again, the boys were gone. All the kids were backstage, jumping and whooping their supposed victory. Suddenly, Belle began coughing, however, and blood began to pool in her hands as she coughed into her gloves. She collapsed frontwards, and Puck barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground. She convulsed in two and retched up a puddle of blood before passing out. "Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT!" Puck cried out.

"Someone call an ambulance!" The kids began running in every direction.

Will came running up after hearing the commotion, smacking straight into Rachel. "What's going on?"

"It's Belle! We need a doctor! She's really bad!"

Will's eyes shot open and he sprinted towards his little girl, seeing her convulsed and covered in blood, held up by Puck's arms. "Mr Schue, what's going on with her?"

"I'll explain later, we need an ambulance _now." _Will said, and Mercedes already had her cell phone out, chattering away to the operator about where they were and what had happened. Two security guards came running up.

"What's the commotion back here, sir?"

"My daughter's very ill. She collapsed." Will said rapidly, taking the passed out, bloodied girl from Puck's arms. The security guard on the left went to go inform someone of a higher power than he.

"The ambulance is on its way Mr Schue."

"Can anyone tell me what happened?" Will asked, and the intercom interrupted whatever answer he was getting with a loud _There's been an emergency backstage. Please stay in your seats while we sort out the trouble, and we promise our third act, Vocal Adrenaline, will be performing shortly. _

Once the intercom had repeated that about three times (three times more than it had to, Will thought angrily), Puck opened his mouth.

"We were just jumping around, proud of ourselves and she suddenly started coughing and then she puked up a whole lot of blood and then collapsed." Puck said. Will looked Puck up and down briefly- the boy hadn't gotten much blood on himself (then again, his coat was already blood-red and shiny, why risk it?)before turning in a different direction and fishing his keys out of his pocket.

"Finn, can you drive a stick shift?"

Finn shrugged and pointed to Rachel.

"Rachel. You drive a stick shift?"

"I can, yes."

"Take my car. Go back to my apartment. Look in Belle's room- it's the only bedroom in the place, not that hard to figure out- and grab the biggest pill bottle on her vanity. There should be some little blue gel capsules in it. I need you to count how many pills are left and then call me when you've done that, okay?"

Rachel nodded and took the keys out of Will's hand. She scrambled off as fast as she could.

"Why did you have her—"

"I think Belle's either been not taking enough medication or too much. Either she's been neglecting her medicine or she intentionally overdosed."

The ambulance finally arrived and as much as the EMTs protested, Will refused to stay behind, insisting on staying by her. Puck came as well (just to get cleaned up, he swore to himself), and the two stayed within a tense silence until they got to the Allon County hospital. Puck immediately went into the bathroom and stripped off his bloody costume, leaving his black pants and tank top behind.

Puck came out of the bathroom, carefully folded his costume jacket so he wouldn't get blood everywhere, and sat down next to Will in the waiting room, who looked as if he were desperately trying not to cry.

"Dude. Belle's tough. She'll make it through." Puck said before he could catch himself, clapping a hand onto Will's shoulder.

Will didn't answer, he just took a labored breath and hung his head lower.

"Dude- Mr Schuester. Belle is going to be okay. You heard her singing out there today. She was fine then, and she'll be fine now."

"She's going to die soon." Will said gravely. "I can just… see her in there… hooked up to machines and _shit… _I failed her. I was a horrible father."

"Dude, have you even seen her outside of your class or glee club? She _glows _when she talks about you, man. Fuckin' _glows, _like Rainbow Brite or some shit. She couldn't _be _prouder of you, if she were paid to. And at least she's _got _ a father. You may not be her real father but you're close enough. My old man was never around. I envy her a little bit, yo. Not only does she _get _a dad, but she gets one as awesome as you? Bullshit, not fair." Puck said. Will snorted.

Will's cell phone went off and he answered it with a dull "Hello?"

"_Mr Schue, it's Rachel. You asked me to count the pills in the biggest bottle, right?"_

"Yeah, the biggest orange bottle. How many are there?"

"_Um, well… there aren't any here. You said the biggest orange pill bottle. I'm looking at an orange pill bottle the size of Coach Sue's last Nationals trophy, and there are no blue pills in here. There's some like, blue dust at the bottom, but there are no pills." _

"Fuck, she must have taken them all at once." Will swore. "But why would she overdose like that?"

"_Maybe she was nervous? Guilty? Depressed?"_

"How could I have been so stupid? I let my little girl drift away, after I fought so hard to free her." Will hung up the phone, thanking Rachel and asking her to drive his car to the hospital so Will could get home. Rachel promised she would.

"William Schuester?" a nurse called out, and Will looked up. "We've gotten your daughter stable, but she's in very poor condition. You are, of course, aware of her medical condition?"

"About the virus, yes. I knew that. She was born with it."

"May we speak with her mother?"

"I… I'm single. I raise her alone."

The nurse flipped through some papers. "Hmm, odd… Our records state otherwise."

Will stood. "What do your records state?" He asked suspiciously. The nurse handed over her clipboard, and on it was Annabella's family and medical information.

_Schuester, Annabella M._

_Family: _

_Father (Schuester, William J.)_

_Mother (Schuester [nee Sylvester], Susan P.)_

_Siblings: None_

_Report: Patient came in with severe—_

Will didn't read the rest. He clapped a hand over his mouth to suppress his joy. Sue had filed the adoption papers without him. Will wondered fleetingly when he'd signed them, but then remembered _oh right. It's Sue. She can probably forge your signature, stupid. _Will nodded and dialed Sue's number on his cell phone before handing the phone to the nurse.

Puck was utterly and completely confused, but wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.

The nurse scampered off with Will not far behind as Rachel popped in and sat down across from Puck. "Is Belle gonna be okay?" she asked.

"Man, I don't even know. That nurse just came in and said that it's not looking good."

"I really hope she's ok."

"Man, me too. I mean, I know I'm Puckzilla and I shouldn't be goin' soft or anything, but she's kinda growing on me, y'know? Not in like a 'I wanna hit that' kinda way, 'cause I know Mr Schue will probably straight-up slit my fucking throat if I even touch her, but in more of a 'I wanna hug that' kinda way. Like, every time I see her I just wanna hug her. She's got that cutesy, baby-panda thing going on."

"You _like _her, don't you Puck?"

"No! Not in the way you're thinking. No. You think I just wanna tap that, and in this case it's actually no."

"No, I mean, you actually, truly, care for her well being, don't you?"

"I just don't want her to die on me." Puck asserted. He refused to speak any longer.

Neither noticed that Sue Sylvester had quietly slipped into the room until Will came back into the room. "Sue, there you are."

"Where is Annabella?"

"In surgery. They have to replace a few vital things. She overdosed on her medication, Sue. Took the whole damn bottle."  
"Why?"

"No idea. God, I was an idiot, though. How could I have not noticed how upset she must have been? I was too caught up in everything else. You were right Sue. You've always been right. I'm the worst kind of person. I failed the one person in this world who relied on me."

Will's legs shook and he fell into a chair. "The nurse said she might not make it through the surgery. She really fucked herself up, Sue."

"She's a tough thing. She'll make it through alright."

Will just cried out as if his own heart were stopping, clawing at his eyes as if he were trying to dig his fingernails into his own brain.

"Everyone keeps saying that! How do you _know _that? She's the most fragile person _on _this earth! She doesn't know how to not be! I keep trying to teach her and keep trying to show her how to be strong but she just…"

"Retreats into the shell of the girl you want her to be." Sue suggested.

"I just wanted her to be happy." Will choked. He curled up in the uncomfortable waiting room chair the best he could, given his height. Puck and Rachel were nearly in tears. They'd never seen Mr Schue like this.

They'd seen him sad, and they'd seen him upset, and angry, but never like this. He looked like an anguished goblin, curled up in a chair, head down and hands clenched.

Sue sat down and closed her eyes. Will instinctively reached out towards this warm figure next to him, and his head ended up in Sue's lap. "I'm sorry, Will." She said quietly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I think I may have pushed her too hard in Cheerios."

"You push all your Cheerios equally."

"I should have been easier on her, given her condition."

"As teachers, we're not allowed to be discriminatory."

"I would have bent the rules like I always do."

"It wouldn't have made a difference."

"You don't know that. She's dying in there, Will. The only thing I can think about is that this is my fault. All my fault."

"It isn't your fault Sue. I was the one who kept pushing her to be more than she was." Will said. He sat up. "If she dies, it's going to take literally everything I have to not just…" Will made his fingers into a gun shape, sticking his index finger in his mouth and twitching his thumb to indicate the firing of a gun.

"She's going to be _fine, _Will. I know she is."

Suddenly, an alarm sounded, and the intercom began blaring _CODE BLUE. CODE BLUE IN THE O.R. CODE BLUE IN THE O.R. ALL HANDS IN THE O.R._

Will shot to his feet. "What the hell does that mean?" He stopped a passing nurse and pointed to the intercom.

"It means the patient's vitals are failing rapidly."


	8. She Had a Very Pretty Face

Note: This chapter was delayed slightly due to the fact it's GODDAMNED COLD in my room and I've been trying desperately to find the first half of the 1953 version of A Streetcar Named Desire on the internet, since we're watching it in Acting 101 and I missed the first half of the movie due to jury duty. We're watching the second half and I was like "Wait, what? Why is she screaming? Why is she crying and singing to herself? Why is she talking to herself? Why did that dude just rape her? He's married to her sister, isn't he? Wait, what?"

So…yeah.

Still don't own anything. Not Glee, not nothin'.

Songs Used in this Chapter:

Annie—SafetySuit—Life Left to Go

**Chapter Eight: She Had A Very Pretty Face**

Will's little girl was more machine than human. She lay in the bed with more wires and tubes coming out of her than Will thought could even fit on the surface area of a girl her size. A clear mask was affixed to her mouth and nose, breathing for her. Bandages wrapped her up like some sort of cartoonish mummy, leaving only her face, hands, and feet uncovered. A steady _beep….beep….beep….beep _sound confirmed that she was still alive, if barely.  
Will could only stare at the mechanized creature his daughter had become.

Will's brain barely registered the doctor's prognosis behind him. "It's expected that she won't live much longer. We've done everything we can, but the damage to her organs was severe. I'm very sorry, Mr Schuester."

Will let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding in. "I tried to be a good father." He rasped quietly, his voice hoarse from having cried all night. Rachel and Puck had left long ago when the rest of the Glee kids picked them up, with a shiny 1st place Regionals trophy in the back of the van. Sue stayed by his side, though she'd left eventually to visit her sister at the nursing home. She was expected back within a few hours.

"I think I should tell you, sir. She was not fully unconscious during surgery, despite our efforts. She kept mumbling deliriously. She said 'I'm sorry, Daddy'."

Will would have cried, if he still could. It felt like his blood had frozen in his veins. Instead, he simply hung his head in his hands and sighed. "I… just feel like I failed my little girl. She counted on me to guide her through the demons of her past and I failed her."

"I'm not a psychologist, sir, but I've seen enough of this sort of thing to know. Sometimes, it isn't you who's failed. Sometimes, if a person is like this, anything at all can set them off. It isn't anything you did or didn't do."

"But if I had just… been there for her better… talked to her, known her the way she wanted me to… this wouldn't have happened." Will said, and then refused to say anything further.

The doctor, realizing he wasn't going to get through to the distraught man sitting by his daughter's side, simply left the room and left the man to his thoughts.

"Why, Belle? Why did you do this to yourself? Why did you hate yourself so much that you wanted to leave us like this?" Will asked softly, more to himself than to the comatose young woman who lay on the stark white bed in front of him.

Will took a deep breath through his nose, and his sense of smell was immediately attacked by the stench of medicine, rubbing alcohol, and blood. It turned Will's stomach, and he found himself pressing his face into the cold white sheets near his daughter's arm, breathing in the scent of industrial dry cleaning chemicals and fresh linen. He could still smell the acrid stench of blood seeping through the bandages on Belle's skin.

Sue padded into the room, sitting down on Belle's other side. Truth be told, she'd never seen Will like this either. She'd seen him upset, and she'd seen him enraged, but she'd never seen him completely devoid of hope like he was now. Normally, this sort of expression on his face would mean Sue had won, but not this time. This time it shot an arrow right into the heart Sue refused to acknowledge she had most of the time.

"What did the doctor say?" Sue asked. Will looked up.

"She's not going to make it." Will said gravely. "The damage to her organs was just too much. Between the disease and the overdose, she's just… hanging by a thread."

Sue nodded. "Speaking of which, there's an old Greek tale called The Sword of Damocles. Damocles was a peasant living in poverty in the mountains. One day he went to the King, Dionysius, and lavished him with praise. His robes, his palace, his food-it was all wonderful and Damocles expressed envy at his status.

"Dionysius looked at him and said 'Would you like to be King for a day in my stead?' and Damocles accepted.

"The next day, Damocles was dressed in Dionysius' finest robes, ate his finest food, and sat in his fine throne. Everything was perfect, until Damocles looked up and noticed a great broadsword hanging above his head, suspended from the ceiling by a single brittle thread.

"Damocles was horrified. He turned to the King and said 'My Lord! How can you live with a sword above your head?' the King replied, 'I have made many enemies and taken my power by force. I must be on my guard every moment, lest I be slain.'

"Damocles immediately threw off his fine robes and said 'Please, my King! Take your power back! I would rather live in poverty and suffering all my days than to live my life in fleeting luxury and constant fear.'"

Sue finished her story, and Will stared at her, puzzled. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Think about it. You'll figure it out." Sue said.

"Are you saying Belle would have rather stayed with her mother than here with me?"

"I'm saying she was used to that life. Living with you was like living in the lap of luxury to her, but it must have frightened her. She must have been terrified that something would happen to her to cause all her happiness to revert back to misery."

"Why didn't she talk to me about it?"

"She didn't know how." Sue said. "Think about it, Will. She didn't know how to talk to you. She didn't even trust men."

"How do you know this?"

"She's my head Cheerio. We have girl talk time."

"Never pegged you as the 'girl talk' type." Will said sardonically, the snide words dripping off his tongue like bitter nectar.

"I care for all my Cheerios. We all have girl talk time." Sue said. She looked at the bandaged girl. "She came to me once a week to have a shoulder to cry on. I tried to mother her the best I could."

"I noticed Belle's file. You put in the adoption papers without me."

"I wanted to surprise you-her. I wanted to surprise her." Sue caught herself. "Plus your signature is ridiculously easy to forge. You have _the _most generic handwriting on the face of the planet."

Will did not miss the slip in Sue's speech and smiled. "Thanks, Sue. I know doing this must have put a real dent in your ego."

Sue smirked and shrugged. "I always found fraternizing with the enemy to be a fun little challenge. My ego will be fine."

"Is that why you tried to take over for Aural Intensity?"

"As you figured out already, I resigned from that position. Aural Intensity did not compete at Regionals."

"I know. It was Vocal Adrenaline instead. And the Warblers. I felt bad crushing Kurt's dreams but he's got that new boyfriend of his to help him out."

"Porcelain's actually dating that other kid? I met him once. Kid seemed like the staunchest guy in the world. The only way I figured out he was gay was by the flaming rainbow scarf he was wearing." Sue said. "Otherwise he just prattled on about football and cars."

Will suddenly shook his head. "W-Why the hell are we having idle banter right now? My little girl is less than a foot away from us, dying rapidly and neither of us have the strength to save her. On what planet is this a good situation to be talking about nothing?"

"She's my little girl now too, William. Don't forget that. We all deal with grief in different ways. You throw yourself into your work and sing Journey music loudly to a bunch of kids. I make dark-humored banter. It's how I cope." Sue said.

Will made a noncommittal sound and stared back down at his daughter. "How am I supposed to just let her die?"

"You can't. You're not that heartless."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"You fight to keep her alive."

Will shook his head. "I don't know how."

Sue smiled softly. "I can take care of it. Unlike you, I've made powerful connections."

Will hung his head. The heart monitor began to slow down slightly. "She's dying." Will stated dumbly, in a forced neutral tone. Sue heard a neutral, flat tone that did not convey emotion, but in a strange way conveyed every emotion at once.

"Not on our watch." Sue said, in the same flat tone. She stood and left the room, pulling her cell phone out as she went.

Will watched in horror as she left, and Annabella's heart monitor went crazy, beeping rapidly and setting off some sort of alert. Nurses and doctors came pouring in, and Will got pushed out in the struggle, protesting and trying to struggle his way back in, only to be shoved out further. "Belle! Annabella! Belle! _Annie!_"

"So I implore you, viewers, help one little girl's life be saved. Give blood. Give marrow. Give whatever organs you've got laying around in your local serial killer's freezer. It doesn't even have to be your own. We need them, she needs them, and frankly I'm earning myself a rightful throne past the Pearly Gates if I get this done right. And that's how Sue sees it." Sue went off the air, with her signature "C" pose. She stood up and walked off set, going backstage to find Will with his head in his hands.

"It's too late, Sue. Belle's not expected to live through the night. Hell, she's confounded the doctors by living as long as she has."

"Then she'll confound them some more."

"No, she won't, Sue. It's over. We've lost her."

Will turned to walk away, but was slapped straight across the face by a bony hand.  
"William J. Schuester, are you that weak? Are you that pathetic? I've seen you rise up and fight for those glee kids of yours tooth and nail, and yet your own daughter is in the hospital dying and you're just giving up?"

Will held the burning handprint on his face, but stood his ground.  
"What hope does she have? She overdosed on potent stuff, Sue! Combine that with her rampant HIV and she'll be dead by tomorrow night! She's only breathing because they have a respirator on her face! If they take that thing off she dies!"

"Well, I'm not giving up! She still has hope! She still has a chance!"

"It's over, Sue! It's goddamned over! My little girl is dead. There's nothing I can do about that! I can build a glee club up and polish it 'till it shines, and I can stand up to that emasculating bitch I used to be married to, and I can even cheat the system and adopt a girl I met six months ago, but I cannot stop Death, Sue! I can't! I don't have that kind of strength. So yeah, maybe I'm pathetic. Maybe I'm weak for giving up. But it's all I can do! She's gone. She's being tethered to this world by machines made by man. And even they are failing to keep her going. Her vitals are failing, Sue. She's dying, and she'll be dead before dawn. It's over."

"It will never be over, Will! Even if she dies tonight, she will not be forgotten, and that will have made all the difference!"

"And what will happen then, huh? If she dies tonight… it's true, I will never forget her. But who says I'll even live long enough to remember?"

"You're stronger than that, William! Think about her! What would she say if she saw you like this!"

"I don't know! I… I don't know."

"Don't let her die without her father by her side, William."

_There was a girl named Annie…she had a very pretty face…not the way you would think so…let me see if I can try to explain it…she had a smile that could light up a room…and when she moved, it was moving you…but it wasn't like a magazine, she was just plain Jane, her name was Annie…_

_She never looked in the mirror! She never liked what she would see. And even if I tried to tell her, she'd never listen to a word I'd say. She always wanted what she never had, but never had what she needed so badly… Someone tells me that she was fine, and that's not right, and it's why I'm singing…_

_Annie, don't be shy here. Annie, don't just die here. Looks don't make the world go 'round. And it comes around, so Annie, don't be shy here, Annie, please don't cry here…. I always have to stop myself, 'cause you're beautiful!_

_I didn't know if I could tell her! I didn't know if I could make her see. She didn't need to find her beauty! She didn't need a way to show me! They took her moments of feeling alive, and made them moments of dying inside…She needed someone to scream her name, to take her pain and it's why I'm screaming…_

_Annie, don't be shy here! Annie, don't just die there! Looks don't make the world go 'round, cause it goes around and Annie, don't be shy here! Annie, please don't cry here! I always have to stop myself, 'cause you're beautiful!_

_And Annie… you are the one sight my eyes never tire of…. It's like I cannot get enough of you. And Annie…. You are the one song left in my symphony… like you were made for me! _

_So Annie, don't be shy here! Annie, don't just die there! Looks don't make the world go round. And it comes around, so Annie, don't be shy here! Annie, please don't cry here! I always have to stop myself… cause you're beautiful! So Annie, don't be shy here! Annie, don't just die there! Looks don't make the world go round. And it comes around, so Annie, don't be shy here! Annie, please don't cry here! I always have to stop myself , have to stop myself, have to stop myself!  
'Cause you're beautiful…_

_Cause you are beautiful…_

_Cause you are beautiful…_

_There was a girl named Annie…. She had a very pretty face…_


	9. Total Eclipse of the Heart

Note: That last chapter was fairly depressing. Sadly, I can't bring it up in this chapter. Drama sucks. I'm in college now. I'm supposed to be escaping all the drama. Why does it just seem to keep piling up?

I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but I've been major-league swamped with school-related crap from all sides, including a failing math class and summer courses coming up and URGH WHY IS COLLEGE LIFE SO HARD

There's a slight Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon reference later in the chapter, if anyone plays that game you'll get the reference.

Look, I come from Boston, okay? I don't want to hear any "Oh, Boston isn't that bad! You're exaggerating!"emails or complaints. I come from Boston and I know what the real Boston's like, not just the tourist-y areas that are nice and kept clean. I come from the real Boston, the disgusting version. Don't bullshit me.

I still don't own Glee or any copyrighted music.

Songs Used in This Chapter

N/A (GASP I KNOW RIGHT WHAT?)

**Chapter Nine: Total Eclipse of the Heart**

It was a sight to behold in the clinic waiting room when more than three dozen teenagers and nine adults piled in, sitting down and waiting to donate their blood and bodily things they weren't using, even if it wasn't going to Belle, but to anyone in need. By the time it was done, they had five spare kidneys, a whole truckload of extra blood, and three spleens. Among other things, of course. Even Kurt and Blaine had come to help out once they'd heard about the situation… and Kurt had sufficiently bitched out Will for letting the situation get as bad as it did in the first place, complete with a customary greeting consisting of screeching "MR SCHUESTER!" as loudly as possible, stalking up to the aforementioned teacher, and slapping him full across the face. _Yep, I deserved that_, Will thought dully.

(_"It's your niece, Mr Schue! You love her! How the hell could you let this happen? This is NOT the Mr Schuester I knew from McKinley! MY Mister Schuester would kill himself before he let harm befall anyone he cared about! Where the hell is THAT Mr Schuester? Did he just *poof* gone? Disappeared? Man up! Now you're going to let that hare-lipped burly woman in ugly pink XXXL scrubs stick that needle in your arm, and suck out your blood, and dammit you are going to like it, William Schuester!") _

As much as Will hated to admit it, Kurt was not only 100 percent right, but damn scary when he wanted to be, especially when he'd been crying and his makeup was running down his face and he appeared as some sort of streaky, fabulous demon beast flanked by his slightly shorter, perfectly-coiffed boyfriend and a severe-looking French woman Will guessed had been assigned to chaperone them from their dorms.

Will also had the fleeting, sardonic thought that he'd been slapped quite frequently lately, and kind of wished he had some sort of magical slap shield until the new "let's tattoo Will's face with our handprints" fad died down.

As the aforementioned burly nurse jammed the needle into Will's arm, causing him to squeak like a teenage girl (Will had a thing against needles, okay? They were pointy and sharp and generally freaked Will the hell out.), Kurt sat in the opposite chair, waiting for the needle in his own arm. Blaine leaned down to whisper in Will's ear.

"Sorry about Kurt. He's been kind of bitchy lately anyway, and he's got a thing about needles. But he found out what happened and insisted on coming."

"Tell him I know how he feels on the needle thing." Will half-joked, gritting his teeth as he watched blood that, under normal circumstances, would be inside his body where it belonged. "Also, tell him it's all good. He was right. This is my fault and I have to bear the brunt of the consequences."

Blaine nodded in understanding and went to join his boyfriend, clutching Kurt's other hand and giving him a kiss. As happy as Will was for them and their relationship, he found himself angry watching them kiss, because they were so happy and he was so miserable.

_The first female in my life besides my mother was fucking Terri. The second, a crazy OCD guidance counselor. Then, the sex. ed wizard who had no idea how a real relationship works, and now my daughter tried to kill herself. Do I have horrible luck, or is this God trying to send me a message? _Will found himself thinking bitterly, gritting his teeth further.

A single tear rolled down Will's face, and he realized his jealous, bitter thoughts were unnecessary and "so totally uncool" as Finn would have probably put it, and set them aside.

Annabella was his first priority.

Will's vision began to swim as the blood was drained out of him.

The nurse took the needle out of Will's arm and let him shuffle lightheadedly off to the waiting room, sticking a bandage on the hole first. Will was given a snack size bag of pretzels and bottle of orange juice, and he sat down, blinking while his head tried to clear itself. Having blood drawn always left Will in kind of a fugue, sleepy state of lightheadedness and nausea. Kurt soon came to join him.

"I'm sorry I hit you, Mr Schue." Kurt said.

"Mmph… yeah… S'fine." Will slurred, trying to take a staggering gulp of the juice and ending up wearing more of it than he drank.

"Are you okay, Mr Schue?" Kurt asked with concern.

"Mm…mm? No… na'really. W-wh'n I do blood thingy… kin'na…. kin'na makes m'brain floatish…floaty…floater…ish…y… nauseous. Yeah." Will slurred through his lower lip, teetering a little in his seat.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Did anyone here understand a word of what he just said?" Kurt asked.  
"He said he gets lightheaded when he donates blood. It happens to some people." Rachel supplanted, getting out of the chair and letting the nurse put a bandage on her own arm.

Suddenly Will's vision went black and he keeled over sideways, passing out on the clinic floor. Kurt squealed in surprise and hopped back into Blaine's arms as the nurse popped up. She flicked on a side radio to call a doctor. "We got a fainter in blood donations. Repeat, we got a fainter."

When Will woke up, he was in a hospital bed off to the side. His head pounded and he felt like throwing up. He was so woozy, he couldn't tell whether he was nauseous or just hungover, though he couldn't remember drinking within the past few hours. As his vision cleared he saw a few concerned faces staring down at him.

"Wow, Mr Schue. I've never seen a grown man faint like that." Kurt half-giggled.

"I _tried _to mention that I pass out easily in situations like this but you shoved me into the chair anyway." Will stressed. "You apparently have problems listening when you're upset."

Kurt shrugged. "I guess I do get overexcited sometimes."

"No kidding. Though I did 100 percent deserve that slap across the face. Woke me right the hell up." Will said the last part through gritted teeth. He rolled to the side and swung his legs over the edge of the hospital bed, stretching himself into sort of a backwards arc to pop his upper torso off the bed without using his arms, which were currently hooked up to an IV drip and the other one just hurt. Will looked down at the tube coming out of his arm, blinked a couple of times, and tore it out, letting it fall to the floor. He started bleeding.

"Anyone got a band-aid?" He asked, and was thrown one by Jock #14 Whose Name Will Never Bothered To Learn. He slapped the bandage on the bleeding hole and got up.

"William Schuester?" A nurse came out, holding a clipboard.

"That's me."

"She's stable. She's not conscious yet, but her vitals are stable, for now. Would you like to see her?"

Will's eyes shot open and he nodded, dashing along behind the nurse into the room where his daughter lay, unbandaged, but dressed in simple hospital gown clothing. She did not have a mask on her face, but was instead breathing under her own power. Her makeup was gone, showing her old scars and melted flesh in greater relief. Added to the list of old injuries Will hadn't known were there was a large scar that bisected her lower lip, which explained why she insisted on that unflattering shade of Red Light District Red she constantly wore on her mouth. Will ran his thumb over the old scar lightly, trying with all his might not to break down and cry.

"Belle…" he breathed softly, both horrified by her scars and simply relieved she was alive.

He felt a twitch under his thumb, and Will pulled back his hand. Belle's mouth quivered.

"Da…ddy…" She choked.

"Belle! Oh my God, you're awake. Belle!"

"Daddy… where… am I?"Belle's eyes fluttered open as she stirred to life.

"You're at the hospital, baby. Don't you remember? You took all your pills at once."

"I…did? I don't remember that." Belle said dreamily, eyes drifting in and out of focus.

"We just held a blood drive to keep you alive, baby girl. Why? Why did you try to kill yourself?"

"I...did? Did I? I must have blacked out." Belle said. She closed her eyes again, getting a headache from the light.

Will's eyebrow rose. "What do you mean?"

"I don't remember what it's called but sometimes I black out. I don't remember what goes on when I'm blacked out and sometimes I do stupid things. It wasn't me, Daddy. I didn't do this. Please, Daddy. Please believe me!" Belle sniffled, tears staining hot paths down her cheeks.

"Shhh, shh, sweetie. I believe you. Shhhh. It's okay." Will sobbed, holding Belle close.

"I remember being at home before Regionals, and then nothing until I woke up here. What happened?"

"You performed, baby girl. You got up on stage and performed beautifully, and we won Regionals. The trophy is back in the choir room at school. After that, you started coughing up blood, so Puck and I took you to the hospital. You've been here for a couple of days. We thought you were going to die. You're telling me you don't remember any of that?"

"None of it. It's like I was a different person. "

Will sighed. Great. As if her being in the hospital wasn't enough, now he had to contend with this. "So what, you're… I'uno… schizophrenic or something?"

Belle shook her head. "Schizophrenia is different. What I have has a different name, but I have such a headache… I can't remember it right now. I know it, I'm just so tired."

"Go back to sleep, baby girl. I'll tell everybody you're awake."

"Not sleepy… just tired. Achy." Belle said.

Will smiled. "You'll be okay. I promise. Just relax."

"Please, Daddy… I'm so sorry." Belle said desperately.

Will shook his head. "No, no! It isn't your fault."

"Yes it is. I should have told you. Now it's too late."

"No! Never! Never say that, Belle. It is never too late."

"Daddy, it was too late before I even met you." Belle said, with a tone of finality to her voice that made Will cringe.

"Belle, please—"

"Daddy, please, just leave. Just let me die here alone, the way it was meant to be."

A tear slipped down Will's face. "I'm not going to let you die here."

"Then you're a fool and you're only prolonging the inevitable." Belle's voice turned hard and hoarse, as if there was a beast inside her that couldn't keep quiet any longer.

"No, I'm not! I'm not a fool, I'm your father!"

"You're not a father, you're not even close." Belle snapped again, her eyes sliding shut. When she opened them, they'd changed color. It took Will a moment to distinguish the difference from hazel green to pure gold. "You, a father? You're nothing to me. How could you be? We've been broken apart and sewn back together by men just like you. How can we trust you?" Belle's voice gained a twisted, echoed quality, as if there were two voices from one mouth.

Will was both terrified and confused as Belle's arms shot up, grabbing at her head. She began crying and thrashing from side to side. "Stop! Stop scaring Daddy! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" The twisted voice escaped. "_And why? He doesn't know us. He can't take care of us. He doesn't know what he's getting into with us." _

Will realized Belle was literally talking to herself, and immediately whipped out his smart phone and began tapping her symptoms into Google.

_Blackouts, two voices, two personalities…_

_Dissociative Identity Disorder: Also known as Multiple Personality Disorder, the sufferer splits their personality into two or more distinct personalities, usually as a coping mechanism due to severe childhood abuse. The sufferer may or may not be aware of their condition, and the separate personalities can differ greatly. The separate personalities are as different people sharing the same host, and can be as separate as having different allergies, different likes and dislikes to food, and different eyeglass prescriptions. The color of the eyes may change, and they may have completely different sets of thoughts and memories. They may also have different talents, such as one personality being adept at the piano and the other not. _

Belle's heart meter went crazy, with multiple heart beams appearing on the screen. The pulse rate began jumping from number to number, and Will began mashing the help button.

Finally, nurses and doctors came piling in. "I know what's wrong with her!" Will exclaimed. "I need Sue!" He blurted. He dialed Sue's number as fast as he could. "Sue! I know what's wrong with Belle. I know why she attempted suicide. I need your help!"  
"_Where are you?"_

"Back at the hospital! Fast!"

"_On my way." _

Will could hear the sounds of a bunch of angry, confused reporters and producers yelling, revealing that he'd called her right in the middle of one of her Sue's Corner segments. One of the nurses was having trouble with the syringe full of sedative, and Will hung up the phone to help hold Belle down.

"Daaaaaaaadyyyy!"

"I know, baby girl. I know, you're scared. Shh… you'll be okay." Will tried to comfort Belle, though tears were freely running down his own cheeks. The nurse managed to inject her, and Belle quickly fell asleep, heart monitor returning to normal.

Will ran out, just to run into Sue. Everyone else had left. "What's wrong with Belle?"

"Look." Will called up the page on Dissociative Identity Disorder again, handing the phone to Sue. Sue looked it over. "Yeah… Yeah, that makes sense. Because of the horrific abuse she suffered, she split herself into two people to escape. One personality is the timid, sweet Belle who's polite and happy-go-lucky, and the other personality is the sarcastic, depressed Annie who throws back whatever abuse is launched her way." Sue surmised.

Will took a deep breath, trying to process the information. "So why did Annie respond to the name 'Belle'?"

"Annie probably didn't trust you or thought you were an idiot. She probably was just messing with you."

"So the girl who made sarcastic quips at me and drank all my beer was Annie? And the scared little girl who had panic attacks in public and night terrors was Belle?" Will asked dumbly. His brain didn't seem to be processing the information very well.

"It would appear so… wait, you let her drink?"

"I… she… yes. Look, don't tell anyone. She's been drinking since she could walk to the fridge on her own, from what I hear. I just… yeah."

Sue slapped her forehead and sighed. "Idiot, you are. What am I gonna do with you?"

Will shrugged. "Annie called me a fool. She said I wasn't a real father, that I wasn't even close. That I had no idea what I was getting into and that I didn't know how to take care of her. Them? Them." Will decided on the proper pronoun.

"What did Belle say?"

"She told Annie to stop scaring me. They began fighting. Sort of. They had to sedate her. Them."

"It seems Annie is the antagonist in this tale."

Will shook his head. "No. No, Annie's not the problem. Annie is the result. Mary is the problem." Will stalked over to the doctor coming out of Belle's room. "If she wakes up and we're not around, tell her Mommy and Daddy have gone to Massachusetts to have a little visit with Aunt Mary."

The doctor nodded nervously, seeing the fiery look in Will's eyes.

Will turned around, and, grabbing Sue's arm on the way out, stalked out of the hospital and into his car.

Sue was pushed into the seat. "Ouch!"

"Sue, take my phone, book two flight tickets to Logan Airport in Boston. There's an app for it on the second screen. We're going to have a little talk with my sister. This time, she's not getting away with a few drug charges and a broken arm. She's either going to pay for the abuse she's wrought upon my daughter willingly, or I'm going to force her."

"Violence against women, much?" Sue half-joked.

"She's my sister. As her little brother, I'm practically genetically obligated to beat the hell out of her."

"She's your _older _sister?"

"By five years, yes. I have one older sister and two younger brothers, they left home and just sort of disappeared. We suspect they're in a rock band but I really have no idea whatsoever." Will said. "It's Mary, myself, Cain, and Abel. Yeah, yeah, I know. William and Mary, Cain and Abel, yeah yeah." Will said after Sue started snickering. "Mom and Dad had a twisted sense of humor, just shut up."

"Please tell me Cain and Abel fought a lot."

"They were identical twins. They actually got along fairly well. In high school Cain dyed his hair bright red and Abel dyed his hair bright green, just so we'd stop mixing them up. Mom and Dad were pissed. It was hilarious."

Will laughed despite himself. He then sighed and stared blankly out of the windshield. "I wish I knew where they were."

"I'm sure they haven't forgotten you, William."

"That's not what I'm concerned about. My family has always had problems with each other. Mary was a diva queen and druggie, I was more song-and-dance than cars-and-football like my father, and Cain and Abel were artists, something my parents always disapproved of. Out of the four of us, I had the best relationship with my parents but that doesn't mean it was by any means a _good _relationship. I wish I knew where my brothers were so I could try and find a way to bring the family back together again. I keep remembering the days when we had a full house full of bickering teenagers and it makes me feel lonely. I'm not meant to live alone." Will exclaimed, gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. Sue shrugged.

"I have the tickets set up here."

"Once we get to the airport we'll use the app terminal to print them out and hop the flight."

"I entered my credit card number. It'll be charged to my card."

"Thanks. You could have entered my number."

"I don't have your card on hand."

"Bullshit, you memorized the number long ago."

"This is true." Sue acquiesced, smiling. "But I used my own number this time. You're buying the tickets back."

"Deal."

The rest of the car ride was spent in an awkward, tense silence until the last ten minutes of the ride, when Sue said, "You're not a fool, you know. You're a guy, which automatically makes you an idiot, but you're not a fool."

Will nodded. "Thanks, Sue."

"I mean it, Will. You're an intelligent man. Oblivious and trusting, but intelligent. You're not a bad father."

"I should have been better. I shouldn't have been so oblivious. She was in pain and I couldn't figure it out. It's like…" Will spun a finger around his temple, "It's like the wheels are spinning but the hamster's dead."

"That's not true. Your hamster's alive and kicking. It's the wheel that's stuck."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that hamster is trying as hard as it can to get that information through your brain, to process it and do it fast, but the information gets stuck at phase one and can't go all the way through. It just keeps piling up and some information needs to go to make room."

Will shrugged. "I'm not a good problem-solver. Usually it's the kids who come up with solutions to problems that I seem to cause. I'm like a problem-magnet."

Will pulled into the parking lot of the airport. He and Sue got out of the car and into the large white building bustling with life. Sue scampered over to the app terminal and printed out their tickets before handing Will back his phone. They hopped on the plane, and it was only then that Will realized exactly what he was doing.

"Shit, I'm going to get fired for this, aren't I?"

"Probably."Sue said, playing with her own cell phone.

"You don't care, do you?"

"Not particularly. Once you're gone, I'll get my Cheerios budget back."

"Hey, that hurts. What happened to the 'no, you're not an idiot, you're actually a good guy, Will' Sue I just talked to ten minutes ago?"

"She died and got replaced by the angry Sue who hates planes." Sue retorted, shoulders hunched in.

"You should have said something, I'd have left you at home." Will said.

"You seemed so pissed off, I didn't want to break your mojo. I'll deal with it."

"You're not gonna have a panic attack, are you, Sue? I've had enough of skinny blonde females panicking around me." Will half-joked.

"No! I'm just going to complain a lot and drink whatever alcohol they serve on planes these days." Sue scrunched herself up tighter in her seat, playing with her phone until takeoff. When told to turn off her phone, she did, but then her expression turned nervous and she slipped a bit closer to Will as the plane took off. As the plane leveled out and the ride got smoother, Will smirked.

"We're leveling out, Sue. You can let go of my hand now."

Sue looked down and saw her bony hand clamped to Will's, and let go as if she were burned, her face heating up. "I really do not like planes."

"I figured that by the way you were attempting to cut off all blood flow to my left hand."

"Shut it, Schuester."

Will had to laugh as the plan hit slight turbulence and Sue shrieked, holding onto her seat.

The plane landed a few hours later in Boston, and Will and Sue got off the plane. Immediately their senses were inundated with all sorts of different sensations that were completely foreign in Ohio. "Damn!" Will exclaimed, "I'm confused and I have no idea _why._"

"No kidding. This place is creeping me out." Sue agreed, and the two began attempting to make their way out of the airport, slowly but surely.

Will learned quickly enough that he had to start shoving if he and Sue were to get anywhere, and Sue figured that out herself as well.

Finally, disheveled and disoriented, the teacher and the coach managed to push their way out of the front doors of Logan Airport, and into a bustling, smoggy city filled with the sounds of screeching cars, people on cell phones, and oblivious, rage-filled men and women swearing at each other. Loud rap music blared from a park to Will and Sue's left, and upon closer inspection the sound was coming from a few street performers. On the other side, there were other street performers, such as a juggler and a woman dressed (and painted) entirely in silver who stood perfectly still for hours at a time.

Sue brought up her shoulders and hunched in, putting on her tough outer shell that would come to good use here. She could sense that this place was mean, and she had to be just as mean to get by. Will stayed blissfully oblivious, and looked ridiculously out of place with the innocent look plastered over his handsome features. He had sort of reverted to a curious foal state, tottering along behind Sue and pointing different tourist attractions out excitedly like a child left to roam in a candy shop.

"Ooh, ooh, Sue, look! Sue! Look!" Will pointed at the aforementioned silver woman, who had just moved, startling a woman. "It's not a statue!"

"That's great, William. Now calm down. People are going to think I'm your caretaker or something."

Will shook himself out of it. "Right, right. Sorry. I was like this on the trip to New York, too. I think it's just the thrill of being someplace I've never been."

"We're here on a mission, Will. A mission _you _instigated."

"I know. I know. And believe me, underneath the thrill-of-Boston exterior I'm angrier than a sack of badgers that someone's shaken up on one of those agitator things they use to stir up the blood samples on _CSI: Miami_." Will said, using hand gestures to get his point across.

Sue simply blinked a few times. "…Do you always use obscure crime drama references when you talk?"

"No, it's usually Broadway references and allusions to Spanish novellas."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a Broadway fan and after I got divorced it was mostly just me and the TV at 3 in the morning." Will replied dully, as if he were speaking to an idiot.

"You actually understand Spanish novellas?"

"Well, yeah, Sue. I am a Spanish teacher. I speak the language fluently."

"No, I mean you actually understand what's going on? I can't even watch regular soap operas. They're confusing as hell."

"Oh. Right. No, half the time I'm lost too but the season finales always try to clear things up, usually by killing off a lesser character. It's actually somewhat satisfying to see somebody get into a badly-acted car accident."

Sue smirked. "You really are a cruel, underhanded bastard at heart, aren't you?'

"Guilty as charged, Sue. I admit, I have a mean streak. But only for Spanish novella characters." Will said, sitting down on a park bench shared with what he thought at first to be a statue, but then it moved towards him, scaring the life out of him. "Ahh! Oh, jeez. It's just a person."

"You have never been seen by this old stone man's eyes before, stranger." The statue asked, grinning. The statue was of an old man, cane in hand and half-moon spectacles perched on a long, beak-like nose. A shimmering stone beard dropped past his wrinkled chin and down to his elbows as he sat. He was a kindly old man, the type to feed the birds and reminisce upon the good times in his long, stone life. He spoke with a cryptic kindness, and spoke in circuitous riddles. The world around Will's eyes seemed to go gray, and this nice old man seemed to be the only thing around. Will smiled.

"This is my first time in the big city. I live way out in Lima, Ohio."

"Ah, a traveler? A nomad, perhaps, in search of a home to call your own. You're looking at the wonders our great city has to offer? The hustle and bustle of city life attracts many a new face and many an old friend."

"You could say that. My friend and I here are looking for somebody."

"Ah, a mystery. Wronged lover? Long-lost friend? Star-crossed sweetheart under the pale moonlight? Do tell, young stranger, are you in love with one of ill repute? Are you looking to elope with your lovely friend?"

Will smiled, then frowned. "No, none of those at all. I'm looking for my sister. Her daughter recently came into my custody and my sister and I had a confrontation followed by a custody battle. I adopted her, so she's my daughter now. She's mentally ill and it's come to my attention that it's her mother's fault. I've come to set things right."

"A noble endeavor. You poor man. I hope you find who you're looking for. And remember, if you need anything, listen to the sounds of the city's heart. You'll find your way."

"What does that mean?"

"A city this vast holds many secrets, stranger. Sometimes the heart of a city holds these secrets within it, never to let them go. A city, like an individual, needs a strong and courageous heart. Listen to the city's heart. You will find your way."

The statue turned back to its original position and froze, not saying another word. Will cocked his head and looked at Sue, who shrugged.

"Don't look at me like that."

"But you saw that, right?"

"Saw what? All I saw was you sit down and space out."

"What are you talking about? Didn't you see the statue? It was one of those painted people."

Sue went over and knocked her knuckles on the statue's head lightly, hearing a solid metallic sound in response. "It looks like a regular statue to me, Will."

Will blinked and shook his head. _Am I going nuts, too?_ "Y…yeah. I… sorry. I must have been daydreaming. It must be this heat." Will said, pulling at the collar of his shirt dramatically and loosening his tie.

"It's like, sixty degrees outside, Will. It's not that hot." Sue said. She reached down and pressed a hand to his forehead, totally not in a concerned manner at all, she would later tell herself. "You're not that warm, so you can't be feverish."

"Just forget it… Anyway, we should get going. The sun's starting to set and we need to find a hotel or something. I flew us here like an idiot without a place to stay."

"Good idea."

Will got up and followed behind Sue, taking one last look at the statue of the old man before turning back and following Sue.

_Listen to the city's heart. You will find your way. _


	10. Carnival of Rust

Note: I'm going to try to get these chapters out faster now, even though it may or may not happen the way I want it to. That last chapter was kind of a cop-out anyway. This one should be better.

This chapter was delayed because Microsoft Word decided that it was not going to work anymore, and randomly uninstalled itself. I've downloaded OpenOffice and am now using that as my main word processing program. Sorry for the delay in advance for any future chapters I end up screwing up because I've never used OpenOffice before.

This chapter was also delayed because I AM LAZY. I don't know how many times I have to keep telling you people this.

Slight incestuous implications later in the chapter... you won't get it if you don't listen to German metal bands.

As I've said in other fanfictions in the past, I have problems judging color sometimes, so please tell me if I get anyone's hair, clothes, or eyes wrong. It's not my fault, blame genetics.

I do not own Glee. I also do not own any references to anything that exists ever that I don't own. If it exists, I probably don't own it. I'm also not making money off this, so please don't sue me.

Songs Used In This Chapter:

We Are the Chorus- Bugs Bunny (I guess), that one episode of Bugs Bunny that nobody but me remembers because the rest of the Internet is made up of 13 year old derps who watch nothing but iCarly and Victorious and all those other crappy shows that are NOTHING LIKE WHAT WE HAD BACK IN THE DAY YOU DAMN KIDS TODAY blah blah blah I'm old.

Spiel Mit Mir- Rammstein – No, I do not know the album because I sparsely listen to Rammstein albums in their entirety, mostly just specific songs. Anyone want to tell me what album it's from? It'd be nice.

**Chapter Ten: Carnival of Rust**

The light of a new day shimmered through lightly-covered windows, and the occupant of one of the two twin-sized beds in the little motel room tried to turn over to avoid the light so he didn't have to wake up. Unfortunately, he then realized that the conscious decision to not try waking up meant that he was already awake. Pissed off and with a crick in his neck from the flat, brick-like motel pillows, Will swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up, stretching. Pretty much all of his joints cracked, including a few he hadn't counted on cracking and actually kind of hurt. He reached blindly for yesterday's pants. He couldn't grasp them, and growled under his breath. His hand kept searching blindly, until a small plastic compact was pressed into his hand. "Looking for these, Schuester?"

Will nodded and popped open the compact, revealing his contact lenses inside. He popped them in and blinked a few times to adjust them, watching in odd fascination as his vision slowly came into focus. He blinked and realized Sue was holding out a cracked mug of crappy motel joe out to him. "Thanks." He said in sleepy gratitude, gulping down the grayish coffee without really tasting it. "How long have you been awake?" He finally asked, once he was sufficiently caffeinated.

Sue took a contemplative sip of her own coffee (if this dishwater-tasting crap could even be called that, she thought). She looked down at Will, still sitting in his underwear on his bed, looking innocently up at her, waiting for an answer. His normally perfectly-coiffed hair was uncombed and sticking up in all directions (including a few _New Directions _hurr hurr and Oh Lord, Sue thought, Did I really just make that joke in my head?), and his red-rimmed eyes looked content, but with an air of sadness behind the rich amber that can only come from a misplaced father worrying about his little girl. While Sue had already spent more than a couple of hours in the bathroom, fixing herself and crying without Will, or anyone else, knowing, Will was just waking up and hadn't had that chance yet. As much as she tried to be strong, strong enough for the world and then some, Belle was her daughter now too, and truth be told she was worried. Sue took one more sip of her disgusting coffee, idly wondering where the nearest Starbucks was so she could get a real cup of coffee that didn't taste like prison hooch brewed in a toilet.

"Long enough to realize how much of a toll this trip is taking on you." Sue finally said.

"…What do you mean?"

"I could hear you tossing and turning in your sleep. You're worried about leaving Belle for so long."

Will nodded. "I already talked to Burt Hummel yesterday. If Belle is released from the hospital before we get back, he's going to let her stay with them to make up the difference. Kurt's already excited to have someone stay in his vacant room while he sleeps in the Dalton dorms. Finn's going to watch over her at school, and Carole is going to make sure she eats and takes her medicine properly."

"That's good. She'll be taken care of there. The Hummel-Hudsons are a good bunch. Porcelain could be a little more self-aware, but that Hudson kid's got a great big-brother streak."

"I also talked to Figgins. We're both using up vacation time to come here, so we'll be paid for any days we miss. Emma is taking over my classes and Glee club, and Bieste is going to take over your Cheerios until we get back. However, he said that our accumulated vacation time only adds up to about two weeks so we have a time limit on our little find-Mary mission." Will said in a final sort of tone.

"Exactly how long do we have?" Sue asked.  
"Eleven days." Will said. "Well, _you _have eleven days, I have seven due to the few days I was absent with the flu. I talked Figgins into the eleven but the last four I won't be paid for." Will said.

"I'll make up the difference."

"You don't have to."

"We're both supporting a legal dependent now. You should be grateful I haven't opened a joint checking account yet."

Will chuckled sardonically, remembering how long it took to cancel his and Terri's joint checking account and how much of an impact it had made on his wallet the Christmas after their divorce when it turned out on his bank statement that he'd bought her several expensive gifts including jewelry and shoes. Needless to say, he got the charges removed from his account and the account canceled soon after.

"Ha-ha, right. Speaking of which, I have a couple of questions to ask."

"No, I will not actually legally marry you nor start an actual romantic relationship, at least not until you grow a better fashion sense or shave your Chia pet head, yes, I will consult with you about financial and personal matters involving Annabella and each other, and yes, I am willing to live with you but we're going to need a larger place to stay, three bedrooms preferably but I'll survive on two if we get a twin bed set." Sue rattled off quickly, anticipating his predictable questions before they even left his mouth.

Will nodded. "All I needed to know. Thanks, Sue."

"She's my daughter too. I'm willing to make these sacrifices." Sue said, gulping down the rest of her now-cold coffee. Will followed suit and started hunting for his clothes, eventually finding them on the radiator. "They were all sweaty so I dunked them in the bath tub a few times and put them there to dry." Sue said.

"…Thank you." He got dressed quickly, put his shoes on and combed his hair the best he could. He ran his tongue along his teeth and made a mental note to buy one of those little disposable tooth brushes with the liquid gel mint in the middle of them at the corner store. His cell phone rang, and the name "Finn Hudson" popped up on his caller I.D.

"Hello?"

"_Daddy! I woke up and you were gone. Where are you?"_

Will smiled inwardly at the sound of Belle's voice as he realized she'd borrowed Finn's cell phone (Or quite possibly stole it from his pocket, if Annie's nature was to be taken under consideration). "Honey, I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks, baby girl, okay? I've told the doctors that Finn's family is going to take you home with them."

"_No! I don't want to go with them!"_

"Honey, don't worry. You know Finn. He's friendly, and you'll be staying up in Kurt's room. It's okay."

"_No! I want to come home with you!"_

"I know, sweetheart, but I'm a long way away right now."

"_Where are you?"_

Will sighed. "I'm in Boston, honey."

"_What? Why? Why would you go there? Why would you leave me here alone and go back there? What's wrong with you?"_

"I know, I know! This is for your benefit, honey. I'm going to set things right, once and for all. I promise you I'm only doing it for you. Go home with Mr and Mrs Hummel, Belle. It'll only be for about a week and a half, maybe two weeks. Let Finn drive you to school."

"_Let me talk to Mommy!" _

"Okay, sweetie." Will looked at Sue and mouthed, 'she knows.' Sue nodded as if Will were an idiot.

"I told her, idiot. Gimme the phone." Will handed over his cell phone.

"_Mommy?"_

"Hi."

"_Is Daddy crazy?"_

"Most likely. I'll get my revenge later by hiding something in his food."

"You're not hiding anything in my food, Sue!"

"Shut up, Schue, I'm on the phone."

"Don't shut me up! I won't have you hiding things in my food!"

"Shut _up, _William."

"_Mommy, I don't want to go with Finn! I want to go with you." _

"I'm sorry, but that just can't happen yet. Go home with the Hummel-Hudsons. That Porcelain kid's got a good head on his shoulders."

"_Who the hell is Porcelain...? Oh, wait, nevermind. Kurt's waving his hand." _

Sue had to laugh a little.

"_Mommy, I don't want to! I like Finn and all but I don't want to live with them!"_

"It's only for two weeks. You'll be fine." Sue could hear Belle getting frustrated and angry on the other end, just before the phone cut off with a loud crackling noise, indicating that Belle had thrown Finn's phone against a wall or some other hard surface, probably breaking the phone. "Wow, she can really be a stubborn little brat when she wants to be." Sue remarked, handing Will back his phone.

"Why do you think I couldn't stop her from drinking all my alcohol?" Will replied, taking his phone back gratefully and dropping it into his vest pocket. They set off, making sure they locked the motel door behind them, and stuck the card key in Will's wallet, safely tucked away in his pants pocket.

"...So when did you tell her you were writing in as her mother?" Will asked after about an hour of wandering the city's streets.

"About a week before I told you. Like I said, your signature is ridiculously easy to forge."

"I know, I know. I have atrocious handwriting. But that's not the point here."

"I told her because she wanted, no, needed a mother more than she needed a father. She'd never had a father before, but a real mother, a mother who would care for her and keep her happy was something she really needed. Never having had a father before, she had no frame of reference and therefore had no reason to care about you as a male parental figure. But she needed a mother. A real mother. So I told her I was going to be her real mother." Sue said. "Ooh, wait. I need a cup of real coffee before we keep going. That motel crap tasted like toilet hooch." Sue commented as they passed a Starbucks.

"Mm, coffee." Will agreed, and the two went in.

They both got something mixed with chocolate and smothered in whipped cream, and sat to drink.

"Ahh, now that's a cup of designer coffee."

"$4.85 for a cup of chocolatey coffee, though. What has this economy come to?" Will said.

"It's come to paying 5 bucks for a cup of coffee. Now drink your ridiculously overpriced chocolatey beverage and let's get going." Sue said with an acidic tone.

"Jeez, calm down, Sue. I was just making a comment. You're really twitchy sometimes."

"Sorry. I just keep forgetting that we're in this together, and that I have to actually be civil to you." Sue said.

Will chuckled. "I have to admit, it's actually really hard not to break into song right now."

"Do it and you'll wake up in our motel bathtub tomorrow morning missing one of your kidneys."

Will smirked.

"Don't start, Schuester-"

"_Ohhhh- we are the chorus, we hope you like our show-"_

"Shut up, Schue, before I rip off your nutsack and use it at as a hat!"

"_We know you're rootin' for us, but now we have to gooooo!"  
_"GOD, you really know how to make it difficult for me to not kill you!" Sue snapped, and Will got up and darted out of the cafe and down an alley, Sue hot on his heels.

Unfortunately, karma was against Will that day, and he slammed head-on into a man in the alley, knocking them both off their asses. "Agh! Watch where you're runnin', asshole!" the man shrieked before looking up. The man gasped. "Will?"

"Who the hell... _Cain?_"

Will's younger brother stared at him like he'd never seen him before.  
"Damn, Will, you filled out. You were skinny as hell back in high school."

"I haven't seen you in twenty years, Cain, and _that's _the first thing you say to me?" Will said incredulously. "Hey, is Abel still around anywhere? You two were always together."

Cain looked disdainfully down at his toes. Will could see that even past high school, Cain kept his hair dyed bright red.

"Cain, _where the hell is our brother?" _

"He... he ain't here anymore. He... He did a tour in Iraq with the Marines and never came back. They never told me whether or not he was dead."

"O-oh. Oh God. Cain, I... I'm sorry."

Cain just shook his head sadly. "My phone bill's one of the only ones I keep paying. I keep waiting for that call, bro."

"I'm sure he's okay, little brother. He's got to be. You'd know immediately if there was something wrong."

"You'd be surprised. Turns out the twin telepathy thing doesn't really work when one twin's overseas getting shot at by dudes in turbans."

Will's shoulders slumped, and Sue came barreling around the corner. "SCHUESTER- Whoa, family meeting?"

Will nodded. "Sue, this is my brother, Cain. Cain, my, uh... colleague, Sue."

Sue nodded politely and shook Cain's hand.

"I'm sure you heard all about me from Will, right?" Cain said.

"Not as much as you'd believe. He did mention you in passing, but-"

"Yeah. I get it. So Will! I thought you stayed in Ohio. What are you doing in Beantown, brother?"

"Looking for our bitch sister. She's got some answering to do for the suffering she put our niece through."  
"Whoa, hold up. We have a niece?"

"Yes. She's 15 and has severe mental disorders due to Mary's abuse. I've adopted her and she's my daughter now, and I recently learned she has a split personality, and also that Mary somehow managed to get acquitted for the abuse and drug charges."

"Split personality, yo? Like in the movies? Like good cop, bad cop?"  
"Exactly. Good cop, bad cop. Except the good cop can't go to the corner store by herself and the bad cop tries to kill herself with potent painkillers."

"Christ in a top hat on Broadway, bro! Is she okay?"

"She's in the hospital. I have her staying with one of my Glee kids until we get back."

"So you did end up teaching. Lemme guess. Show choir and..."

"Spanish-"  
"Don't tell me brah! Show choir aaaaaand...Spanish, bro."

Will rolled his eyes. "Yep, good work, little brother. You got me. _Buen trabajo, hermanito." _Will said, giving his brother a sarcastic thumbs-up.

"Dude, worst part is, I understood that." Cain chuckled. "If you couldn't tell, I kinda fizzled out after college, yo. I'm still a street artist, but I spend most of my money getting high with college coeds, which is probably not a healthy habit, brah."

"Err, no. No it is not."

"Enough about how I turned out to be a loser while my sister's a whore and my brother's probably dead and my other brother's married and has a nice house in Ohio."

"Actually, I'm divorced and living in a one-bedroom apartment that badly needs soundproofing." Will deadpanned.

"Whoa, seriously? What happened to Terri, brah? You two were like, super-couple."

"She and I...didn't work out. Nothing happened."

"Except the fake-baby thing." Sue interjected.

"Not _now, _Sue!" Will mumbled to her heatedly, cheeks burning red.

". . . .What?"

"Nevermind, Cain." Will said hastily. "Anyway, do you have any idea where Mary could be? I know she lives here somewhere."

"Dude, she lives in Roxbury. I'll give you the address." Cain said, starting to climb up the fire escape. "My apartment's up in here. I came out here for a booze run but I guess it can wait."

"You're a lifesaver, little brother."

Once they were in the apartment, Cain flicked on a light and grabbed a pen and a pad of paper that had a half-sketched drawing of a bird on it. He tore off the bird and turned to a fresh page, scribbling down the address. While he did this, Will went over to the bird drawing. "Cain, this is an amazing sketch. Why would you just throw it away?"

"Nah, man, the beak's all effed up, look. That one sucks. I can do better than that." Cain replied, handing Will the address and pointing out the 'effed up' beak, which to Will looked perfectly fine.

"Still an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, little brother?" Will asked playfully.

"Still a big-word-flauntin' douche, big brother?" Cain replied in the same playful tone. "But yes. How am I supposed to get top buck for my art if it sucks? I gotta keep striving to be better. Always gotta top myself with each one."

"Good attitude for progress, but you don't have to get down on yourself about it. You're acting like you suck now, when you don't. This sketch is amazing as it is. I mean, sure, as an artist, maybe you see flaws in it that I don't, but think about it this way. People who aren't artists like you, who see those imaginary miniscule flaws that you do, will look at this and think the same way I do. It's amazing and you should see it that way too."

Cain smiled softly.

"Thanks, big brother. You always know how to make me feel better." Cain took the picture from Will's hands and stuck it to the fridge with a magnet, grinning like a fool.

"It's my job, little brother."

"Oh Christ. Can't you two call each other by your names? I feel like I'm living in a Lifetime original movie here." Sue suddenly piped up, having stolen one of the bananas off Cain's counter and munched half of it away already.

Cain leaned into Will's ear and asked in a concerned tone, "Is your girlfriend always like that?"

"She's not my girlfriend but to answer your question, yes. She is, in fact, always like that." Will responded, earning an amused snort from Sue.

Will's phone rang, and this time the name on the caller ID read "Kurt Hummel" so he answered it.

"Hello?"

"_Mr Schue, it's Kurt. Finn's phone is in a hundred pieces so I thought I should be the one to call you. It's bad."_

"W-What's bad? What's going on, Kurt?"

"_They had to sedate Belle again, but this time she had a weird reaction to the sedative. She's in intensive care."_

Will nearly dropped the phone. "Oh, God!" He cried.

"_The doctor says he's never seen a reaction like this before. His chart says 'viral attack pattern Omega'. I don't know what that means but I think she's dying, and dying fast. You and Coach Sylvester need to get back to Lima, _now._" _Kurt's tone was absolutely final, leaving a grand total of negative six inches in either direction for argument. Kurt hung up, leaving Will to stare at his phone in shock, mouth slack and pupils blown wide in shock.

"What is it?" Sue asked.

Will opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to force his vocal chords to work. "A...ah...eh..." small, raspy noises were all that Will could force out of his mouth.

"You guys gotta go back to Ohio?" Cain offered as explanation. Will nodded dumbly, unable to speak. "I'll go with you guys." Cain offered. "She's my niece too, and I think I'm willing to go cold-sober if it means she's okay."

"Are you sure?" Will croaked.

"Yeah, dude! I can't speak for Abe anymore. And big brother, you gotta know... that kills me. And this is gonna sound really creepy but me and Abel... you remember that Rammstein song, _Spiel Mit Mir?" _Cain asked sheepishly.

Will shrugged. "Personally, I don't care, but Dad would have a stroke if he found out."

"And I ain't gonna let another member of my family go down like that. I know now I got a niece, and now, I'm gonna make up for the mistakes I made with Abel. I'm not gonna let her go down like I did him..."

"Cain... Abel isn't in Iraq... is he?" Will growled.

Cain shrugged. "I wasn't lying when I told you he did a tour in Iraq. I lied when I told you he never came back."

"What happened, Cain?" Will demanded.

"Post-Traumatic Stress is what happened. He saw some shit over there. Came back all messed up in the head. He was a different guy. I tried to get through to him, like I did before... but he pushed me away. Told me that he didn't want what we had anymore. That he couldn't handle it anymore. That something over there changed him, and not for the better. Then he put the barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger."

The worst part of this tragic tale was the agonized, yet nonchalant tone that came out of the red-haired man's mouth. "And I _refuse _to let that happen to anyone else I care about. It's not gonna happen, man! It's not..." Cain broke down, and Will moved forward to envelop him in his arms, letting his little brother cry on his shoulder. "I... I started d-doing pot, and drinkin' heavy, and sleepin' with c-college coeds... because it m-made the pain go away. It just... made the pain numb for a little while... let me f-forget that I let my t-twin brother die. My twin brother, younger than me by s-sixteen minutes... and I let him up and w-walk out the door, into a war zone which took him a-away from me... a-an' I just stood there and watched as he... as he stuck the b-barrel of a .32 into his goddamn mouth and blow his fuckin' brains all over the fuckin' room... and I blamed the world... I blamed the government, and I blamed the Iraqis, and hell, I even blamed you, and Mary, and Mom and Dad... just to have somebody to blame... I blamed you for running off and marrying that blonde _bitch, _and I blamed Mary for whoring herself out rather than ask for help... I blamed Mom for pushing Abel 'n' me to go into the military... I blamed Dad for being a cold fuckin' dipshit..." Cain sobbed for a few minutes, soaking Will's shirt through to the skin, "And then I just sat back and blamed myself... and I knew what I was turnin' into, but I couldn't... stop... no... it's not that I couldn't stop. I just didn't wanna... and..."

"Shhhh... shhhh..." Will held his brother tightly, "Shhh...shh..." Will whispered soothingly. "I know... shhhh... it's okay. I'm here now. I know. Shhh..."

_Wir teilen Zimmer und das Bett  
Bruderlein komm sei so nett  
Bruderlein komm fass mich an  
rutsch ganz dicht an mich heran_

Vor dem Bett ein schwarzes Loch  
und hinein fallt jedes Schaf  
bin schon zu alt und zahl sie doch  
denn ich find keinen Schlaf

Unterm Nabel im Geast  
wartet schon ein weisser Traum  
Bruderlein komm halt dich fest  
und schuttel mir das Laub vom Baum

Spiel ein Spiel - mit mir  
gib mir deine Hand und

spiel mit mir - ein Spiel  
spiel mit mir - ein Spiel  
spiel mit mir - weil wir alleine sind  
spiel mit mir - ein Spiel  
Vater Mutter Kind

Dem Bruderlein schmerzt die Hand  
er dreht sich wieder an die Wand  
der Bruder hilft mir dann und wann  
damit ich schlafen kann

Spiel ein Spiel - mit mir  
gib mir deine Hand

spiel mit mir - ein Spiel  
spiel mit mir - ein Spiel  
spiel mit mir - weil wir alleine sind  
spiel mit mir - ein Spiel  
Vater Mutter Kind 

Will sang the aforementioned song in German, in a much kinder and gentler tone than the original song it was taken from, almost as a lullaby. It was soft, and the notes were different, but the song's core was the same, and Cain relaxed into Will's embrace, his breathing evening out.

"B-Bro... you realize what that song actually means in English, yeah?" Cain whispered.

"Of course I do. And like I said. I don't care."

Cain smiled softly, his eyes sadly staring away at nothing. "I love you, big brother."

"I love you too, little brother."

"We should get to the airport."

"Let's go."


End file.
